


Corrupted Falls

by Kittyinkypaws



Category: Gravity Falls, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU: Cannon divergent, Crossover, Flashbacks, Gen, Greasy's Diner (Gravity Falls), How do you tag again?, Mystery Shack, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post SUF Episode 16: Fragments, Post-Canon, Steven Universe Has PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:13:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 38,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24421111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittyinkypaws/pseuds/Kittyinkypaws
Summary: After shattering Jasper Steven worries he is too much of a danger to those he loves to stay in beach city. Instead of running off to Homeworld, he ends up finding himself stuck in a little town called ‘Gravity Falls’, where he is taken in by a sweet little family who are visiting for the Summer.With Steven’s mental state decreasing, his family panicking over his whereabouts and the Pines family having literally no idea who he truly is things can’t really go so well. Oh stars, what has he gotten himself into this time?My own take on a SU and GF crossover! (I have rewritten the summary)
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 799
Kudos: 554





	1. Pines Family reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This was inspired by all the other Gravity falls and Steven Universe crossovers that have been popping up! I am a big fan of them all, so if you enjoy this I’d suggest checking out some of the others. This is my own take, as I thought I’d set it at a rather different time go from there. I should be able to update a lot faster than I do with my other fics as I have a large portion written out, it’s just in dire need of proofreading! The chapters will likely be small, but hopefully fast in coming out.  
> Hope you enjoy! I’d happily accept any criticism or suggestions you have!

“Grunkle Ford!”

“Grunkle Stan!”

“Kids!” Both children dropped their bags and rushed towards their beloved great Uncles. A podgy pig waddled behind them, happy to be back in a familiar environment after the long bus ride. The twins happily hugged their little family. They happened to be closer to them then their own parents. 

(Not that they knew that, of course.) 

Dipper, the shorter of the two 13 year old’s, had short brown hair and commonly wore a blue jacket and red shirt, along with one of those hats with the flaps for his ears. He hadn’t changed his style since last year. Hey, he was a busy guy, and clothes take forever to buy and... well, wash. Mable, the more optimistic of the twins (And taller by about 4 millimetres now, despite the fact they’d both grown) generally wore large hand knitted sweaters in different colours, along with a matching headband. Today it was pink, with a little pig embroidered on the front. She’d also added lace up doc martens to her outfit. Dipper, even after much pushing to do so, had not.

“And _Mr Mystery_! Don’t forget me dudes.” Soos reminded them, doing jazz hands trying to sound impressive. It was his job to impress the public with undeniably unbelievable and weird ‘creatures‘ and displays. Stanly Pines had been the former ‘Mr Mystery’, but had relented his position in order to sail around the world (well, parts of it) with his brother and best friend, Stanford Pines. They put their journey on hold to visit Gravity Falls with their favourite great niece and nephew for the summer. Soos was happy to let them stay at the mystery shack, he didn’t live there anymore anyway. He and Melody (and his Abuelita) had bought a little house closer to town.

“Hey, Don’t forget me either.” Wendy reminded them, snatching the hat off of Dipper’s head and swapping it with her own, a blue one with a pine tree. “You won’t need this to remember me if I’m right here.” She smiled, plopping the hat comfortably on her red hair. Dipper blushed slightly and pulled the hat on tighter, not even worrying about head-lice. All year he’d promised himself that he was over Wendy; she was _far_ too old for him. But he still liked her, he couldn’t help it. Mable used to fall deeply in love for every guy she saw, now she was a bit more reasonable.

But then again, she’d tried to exchange numbers with that guy who’d been sitting at the front of the bus. Thank goodness he’d gotten off the ‘Speedy Beaver’ long before they reached gravity falls, though he hadn’t looked like he recognised the stop. Perhaps the squealing pig put him off?

“Come on you little knuckle heads, let’s get settled back in.” The shack looked almost exactly the same, down to the millions of signs pressuring you to enter and the missing ‘S’ on the roof, making it seem as if you were visiting the Mystery hack’. Soos looked up to Stanly like a father, and wanted everything to stay as he’d left it. Though he had added a new display with his ‘self replenishing pizza, the pizza that never ends! Take a bite if you dare!” It was a wonder it hadn’t gone mouldy. As well as that there was a proud statue of the founder, Stanley Pines. It was even good for scaring away little kids that weren’t gonna buy anything anyway! Stan would’ve been proud.

The twins were easily able to unpack their stuff, hang up posters and make themselves at home in their room. Mable happily declared that ‘even the splinters are the same! They must have missed me!’. 

He wasn’t usually one to have rash and optimistic opinions, but this time, this _time_ was going to be a great summer, Dipper just knew it.


	2. Runaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven decides to run away.
> 
> This part takes place Post Fragments, and replaces Homeworld Bound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in one afternoon, I’m proud of myself. Lol. Lockdown is good for something I guess!
> 
> I hope you like it!

“Steven!”

“Where is he going?!”

“Steven.” Garnet’s smooth and concerned tone seemed to float right over Steven’s head. As did Pearl’s panicked shouts and Amethyst’s shocked exclaimations. “Wait. You don’t need to go.” Steven reached for the doorknob, simultaneously turning a neon pink and putting up a barrier to block the gems, including Jasper, from coming any closer. 

“What the **heck**?!” Amethyst exclaimed. Sure, he’d done walls like that before, but not on _purpose_ , right?

Even Jasper flinched in surprise. Why had her Diamond blocked _her_ away?

“Guys... I love you but... you can’t help me any more.” No one could help him, he was a disaster, a _shatterer_. He said as such. “No one can... I’ve been avoiding my only option. The only way to save you all. Please, don’t follow me.” 

Jasper proudly, and slight arrogantly, stood up straight, ready to follow her powerful diamond and protect him, as a good gem should. Oh, how she’d missed this.

“You too, Jasper.” Her face fell into a look of utter confusion. She barely listened when he said something about doing things for herself. 

“Steven! Remember, we’ll always be your family.” Garnet put her hand against the wall, wishing it was against Steven, so she could stop him from doing this, stop him from disappearing again. 

His family? How could he call himself their family when he’d done something like this? Steven had been their family when he was a child, small, helpful, innocent. Now he felt like he was just pretending to be himself, when really he was terrible, he wasn’t good, he was a shatterer, he was a _Diamond_.

In response to Garnet’s proclamation Steven flung open the door and fled, his pink powers excellerating his running. 

This time he wasn’t going to the woods. He was just running _away_ , out of beach city, past his little ‘calm’ point where he occasionally ate pizza, past Empire city even. He just ran and ran, faster than he had when they were Smokey, faster than any human or gem had ever run before. Never mind the torn up ground behind him, or the burning under his flip-flops. He had to get away, he had to protect them from himself, he had to protect himself. Who knew what they might do if Jasper told them that he’d...

Steven came to a sudden stop. Had it been 5 minutes? An hour? Two?  
When you’re travelling faster than _sound_ time isn’t really a concept you can properly follow. 

What had stopped him, he wanted to keep running, to get further away?

But no matter how hard or soft he tried to punch viciously through the invisible wall it just rippled, not budging even a millimetre. At one point it stretched slightly, but even that was minuscule and Steven had been pushing his strength to its limits.

That’s fine, he could use his powers to jump over- no, no. Ouch... that probably just lead to him breaking even more bones. Steven rubbed his head. At least he knew his healing powers were working. That’s the one thing he could do that ‘Classic Steven’ couldn’t.   
Unlike protecting people, being nice, being happy...

Eventually his pink glow faded, the buzz from his skin going with it. Instead Steven just sat defeatedly on a rock. 

Ok, he was in the middle of some forest, no phone, no way out. Maybe if he went back the same way he came?

No, it appeared this went all the way around. Great.

Well, he deserved to be trapped, didn’t he. Caged like a criminal. Because he was a criminal. _Why_ had no one noticed it before? He reacted so badly at the tiniest of things.

Like right now. 

It was a little suffocating, being trapped like this. It reminded him too much of Homeworld, before mom was Pink Diamond, when he was up for murder trial. Only this time he _did_ murder someone.

Even though there was a _huge_ area in this circle there seemed to be an extremely limited amount of air. It was worse than being in a bubble in space. Steven’s chest felt really tight too. And he felt hot, though he’d shrugged off his jacket already. The sun was shining down on him, but how hadn’t he noticed the heat? Was this a side effect of running so fast? Maybe he should sit down for a minute, he felt like he was gonna pass-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading! I’m happy to hear any criticism as I’m always looking to improve!


	3. If you go out to the woods today you’ll sure get a big surprise...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pines family have a picnic, and come across some strange tracks.

“Hey, Grunkle Ford? What are these?” Dipper stared hard at the odd marks on the ground. They hadn’t been in the forest long, but he’d already come across something he had never seen before. Actually, they had gone quiet far out, hadn’t they? To be honest Dipper had just been enjoying the walk so much that any amount of time could have passed since they’d left the shack, and he wouldn’t have noticed.

Well, no matter where they were, if _anyone_ was going to know what they were it was his Great Uncle Ford.

Mabel was not amused.

“No! Dipper! Bad boy! Step away from the mysterious markings!” Dipper’s twin commanded, like he was some kind of dog. “We’re going on a picnic. And you promised no weird or creepy nerd stuff! At least not yet.” Which was why he’d kept his own brand new journal to himself, and also why he couldn’t exactly justify bringing it out of his jacket to draw pictures. He, instead, made a mental note of where they were. Perhaps around about the border of where the weirdness was blocked in?

“They look like they were caused by some kind of vehicle, or at least something with a lot of speed.” Ford examined them. “They seem to go further than just this clearing though.” He shamelessly took out his own new notebook, jotting down a sketch. Dipper made another mental note to ask him if he could borrow it later so he could copy it. Having _two_ drawings couldn’t hurt. “I just want to see how far they go...”

“Come on, Sixer!” Grunkle Stan moaned, but he was already off. It was a full 10 minutes before he was back, and apparently he hadn’t seen the end of the markings yet. 

“It does look like it was made by some fast moving animal... not one I’ve come across yet. And it appears to follow a circular path, though I’d need to hike the whole way around to check.” He mused, eyeing up the picnic. Surely that would be enough food to last for a quick expedition like this?

“Grunkle Ford!” Mable moaned, pulling his arm to sit down at the picnic. “Do it later. Please? For Waddles?” She held up the pig. He made a squeaking noise and looked into his eyes.   
Well, no one could say no to that face, so he reluctantly slipped his notebook back in his coat. Apparently making important scientific discoveries would have to wait. He’d learnt that it was important to put family first, anyway. If he had done that he would not have ended up in the portal in the first place.  
Ford looked at his brother. Despite how much they had both aged while Ford was in the portal, he looked so much younger when he was sitting laughing with the kids, pretending that he didn’t care too much about them being back (the fact that he had worn the sweater Mable made for him last Summer probably gave him away though, especially considering the blistering heat. She promised to make him a ‘Hello’ one next. Mabel had also already made Ford one with a 6 fingered hand on it, like the journals, which he was also wearing. What, it wasn’t _that_ hot.).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the chapters will get longer than this! The first few are quite short. I hope you enjoyed anyway!


	4. Alone in the forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven wakes up in the woods... again. He really likes the woods, doesn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Longer chapter! I hope that you enjoy! I’d love any constructive criticism as I’ve always got room for improvement! <3

It was so hot and sunny when he’d ~~passed out~~ fallen asleep that Steven was shocked when he awoke to find that the sun was already long gone and the stars were shining in the sky, leaving him shivering in his black top. It had received some damage from being stretched when he’d changed sizes.

Steven looked at the sky. It was pretty nice actually. The stars, the moon, the treetops.  
**Wait**... why was he in some forest-

Oh.

Ohh...

Well, at least since he was glowing again he wasn’t cold anymore? Look on the bright side. (More like the bright pink side. He was like a beacon. Mosquitos kept coming up and trying to bite him too... Did that even happen at night usually?)

Steven found his jacket on the ground and shrugged it on, happy to see it wasn’t any more weather beaten than it had been after his training with... Jasper. Wait, it was literally made with light how had he managed to tear it a bit?

Oh well, there was more important things to worry about at the moment.

Like, why on Homeworld was he trapped?

Steven tried the wall again, throwing diamond shields and bubbling his fists to punch it, the pink glow originating from his gem amplifying his strength.

Nothing.

Steven sunk onto the ground in defeat, wanting to scream but scared about what it might do to the local ecosystem. At least in Beach City they were probably used to it.

After about 5 minutes of sulking something caught Steven’s eye to his left. A strange little man walked towards the invisible wall, and he _also_ got pushed back. 

The man looked at him.

Was Steven supposed to... talk to this guy? Were those normal, perhaps? Short men with grey beards and pointy hats? 

“Shmebulock...” He sadly said, rubbing his nose and stumbling back into the bush. Ok, so not normal then? Unless that was a language he didn’t understand?

Did this place... keep in things? Is that why Steven was trapped? Was it everything, or just weird things?

As if to answer his questions a mosquito flew off of him and out of the barrier like it wasn’t even there. 

It was because he was weird, wasn’t it? It was because he was dangerous and crazy and a fraud and a shatterer....

And he was pink again, of course, great. Absolutely great. He hadn’t even noticed he was glowing pink. Wait, yes he had, he’d just forgotten. He’d almost gotten... gotten used to being pink.

Just like his mother. Stars, why not just poof up his hair and stick him in a dress too?

He used to like wearing dresses when he was younger. But now it just felt wrong. Like was trapped again, just like he was now. Right now. In this prison for weird things. Or perhaps no one could leave, the mosquito could be an exception? If there were humans here he’d ask. 

Wait, he was a human, he shouldn’t refer to them as humans!

For some reason, though, he didn’t feel very human at all. Just like a stupid pink gem, a shatterer, a fraud....

Great. Just _great_.

Suddenly, off to his left in the far distance Steven spotted a road. Did that mean there was a town here? 

Steven felt his glow fade at the thought of a town. He forgot about who he was for a minute. A town.

That sounded good, Steven was starving.

But the thought of seeing humans sort of curbed his hunger a bit.

What if he hurt them? Unlike him and the gems humans were so fragile, emotionally and physically...

Oh stars, the road was a little torn up where he’d run along it, huh? As were some of the trees and plants. Steven kissed the ground a few times for good measure, bringing up a few cheery patches of grass and flowers. He was glad it didn’t become plant monsters. When one patch seemed to almost start moving Steven immediately stopped, just in case. Even if it _could_ have been the wind. There was a puddle near the flowers, and when a tear fell from his face (had he even been crying?) it turned Pink. Hopefully it would wash away before anyone saw it.

If it didn’t they’d have no way to connect it to Steven anyhow.

Oh Stars, he needed some water, his tongue burned desperately in his mouth. Running to.... wherever he was from Delmarva was probably something you should do with the right equipment. Even so Steven couldn’t bring himself to drink from a puddle in the ground. He’d at least prefer a lake or spring.

There was a sign next to the road, proclaiming that this was ‘Gravity Falls’ and there was ‘nothing to see here’. Cool, Steven didn’t really want to be seen. 

He had about $20 stuffed in his pocket, perhaps he could buy himself some food? He didn’t really have a good idea on the value of money, and spending lots of time with aliens who didn’t have any currency, just a rank system which was now defunct anyway, didn’t help. Was $20 a lot? 

Greg had given him a bunch more cash in case he needed it, but that was all at home still. Wow, Steven really didn’t think this whole ‘running away’ thing through. Big surprise. Another mistake to add to his ever growing list.

But it had to be done (Again). He just had to protect his family. 

Oh he so dearly wanted them _right now_ , but it couldn’t possibly be helped. 

What if he hurt them too? 


	5. Meanwhile, with the Crystal Gems (and Jasper)...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems in the wake of Steven’s absence...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry for the short chapter but I promise they get much longer! I just have to get the shorter ones out of the way! To make up for it I will try to post another one later this evening/tonight.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! I’m happy to receive any criticism/questions so I can improve!

“ _ **Jasper**_ , what happened?!” Pearl demanded. Jasper remained poker faced. Or rather, angry faced? It seemed that was kind of her resting expression.

“I don’t have to tell you my Diamond’s doing.” 

“Why are you calling him that?”

“He is my Diamond.” She repeated angrily, like that explained it all.

“Do you even know _where_ he went?” Amethyst tried. 

Jasper huffed in place of a response.

At least if Steven had taken the warp pad they’d have a round-about idea of where he was or could be. They’d know he was safe. Now he could be anywhere in beach city.

“I suggest we go and do our classes, it will be morning soon. We should respect his wishes not to follow him.” Garnet hoped she was making the right decision. Her future vision with Steven had been just so _off_ recently. She’d thought he still ate meat, and the possibility of him crashing the van didn’t even cross her mind. 

At least she’d been able to help him before and after he proposed to Connie. 

“Is it really almost morning?! How did he keep the wall up that long?” Pearl wondered. “ we really need to have a serious talk about all this...“ Pearl thought about the wall. They could have taken the warp to leave, the diamond shields didn’t block that, but he needed space. How had he kept it up for so long? She remembered a time when he could barely summon it, it was quite adorable when she thought about it now. “I hope he isn’t straining himself.” Though that was something he commonly did, wasn’t it? With running the school, with Spinel, offering himself as a sacrifice to be put on a murder trial, taking down the whole Diamond empire (The same one that had kidnapped him for said murder trial). Maybe running away wasn’t such a big thing in comparison? In those novels he had loved when he was younger, the ones about homeless adolescents, they’d all run away and reported that they had plenty of fun. 

Perhaps it was normal to do run away for a few days?

Even if it was Pearl still felt worried, and wanted answers, Steven still hadn’t talked properly with them about crashing Greg’s van, or what had happened with Jasper. They tried asking said soldier, but Jasper clearly wasn’t going to talk.

“Steven will be fine, he just needs a breather.” Amethyst said with confidence that she didn’t have, breaking the thoughtful silence.

“If he isn’t back by tonight we should go looking for him. Right Garnet?” Pearl turned to the tall fusion for approval. She usually made decisions for herself now, she was a rebellious renegade Pearl after all. But in times of crisis it was nice to have someone to turn to, and Garnet was her best bet, seeming as Amethyst was clearly super worried.

Garnet nodded, not wishing to admit that she wasn’t sure at all. Would he be back by night? Tomorrow? Three days like last time? Her future vision wouldn’t say.

Steven would be fine. He was always fine. He’d _said_ that he was fine.

She’d take his word for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That line really annoyed me in the cannon episode. ‘We’ll take your word for it’, really? He clearly NEEDED YOUR HELP GARNET!


	6. Well, someone really made their mark on this forest...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Ford properly investigate the strange marks around the border.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn’t already tell I’m having trouble naming the chapters... Why not just have them as numbers? Idk why I did that...
> 
> And wow, is this an almost decently lengthy chapter (for me, anyway)? Yay! Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I’m enjoying writing it!

The marks, which wore deep into the earth as if they’d been paced hundreds of times, meant next to nothing to Dipper. There was no animal that he thought could run fast enough to cause that dent, even in the old journals.

But then again it could have been done over a long period of time, perhaps even by a normal animal. Apparently in captivity Lions often walked along the same path so many times that it did that to the ground. In fact he’d been to a zoo where they’d had to put in a concrete floor in the corners to prevent the lions from digging too far down. 

But even that wouldn’t explain the burn marks. 

He and Ford had snuck away early that morning to go look at them.

Mabel and Stan were either sleeping or watching TV, probably, while they got to investigate this curious mystery.

Ok, yes, he wanted a calmer summer this time, he could barely think about B-I-L-L without internally panicking (they’d proved that when Mable had threatened the new kid with a grappling hook and Dipper had backed away from him screaming. This was before they remembered that B-I-L-L could also be a human name. And that he was just wearing yellow tinted sunglasses. That had all been... rather awkward to explain to the principal. Even then they hadn’t told the _whole_ truth, just that some kid named... Bill had bullied them in the past. That was Dipper’s first ever brush with the principal and he didn’t want it to happen again. Thought his brave sister Mabel had been there a few times before as a result of protecting him from bullies, so the bully lie wasn’t a big stretch. Bill is a bully. **Was** , he wasn’t there anymore, not is, _was_!) But anyway, even though he wanted a calmer summer Dipper still wanted to fill out this new journal he’d gotten. So far it only had a drawing of the markings (that were pretty good, if he did say so himself) and a few questions and speculations about them. ‘Why are they here?’ ‘Animal or monster?’ ‘Why the burn marks?’. That sort of thing. He hadn’t been back long enough to have much else.

The cover was a deep electric blue, and Dipper planned to decorate it with some picture. _Not_ a pine tree. He’d find something else. Maybe Mabel could help, she loved scrapbooking, this wasn’t that different. He’d have to just... wait until he bought up the courage to tell her about the journal. She might be mad, because of the whole ‘promise they’d avoid weird stuff at least for now because of last summer‘ thing. 

“Dipper, look at this.” Right by the road, which also happened to be torn up, there were a few patches of fresh grass and flowers, still in the small dip created, but even _more_ lively than those around it. 

“It’s like it only just started growing!” It wasn’t even wet from the morning dew or _anything_.

“Yes, a strange phenomenon. The fastest growing plant I’ve personally observed was bamboo, the species could grow about 91 cm in a day. This, however, is plain old ordinary grass...” He peered closer. “And this puddle appears to be pink... We can return later with a test tube to collect some, I would suggest we don’t touch it until-”

“Grunkle Ford! It looks like something slept here.” Dipper and his uncle observed the dent in the grass. It was about there the marks slipped slightly to the side and stopped. The end of the circle perhaps? If this was a circle.

_What if it were a triangle?_

“Great observation, Dipper. The only other direction, if indeed the creature is trapped by the bubble, is back into the woods or into town. It would take hours to go through the whole circle but-“

Ford’ words seemed to go... sorta fuzzy, like he was underwater. 

Town? Like... there could be a new monster _in_ the town? Would it end up being friendly, like the multi-bear? Or like... Bill?

What would the people do if there was a new monster in town? Just say ‘never mind all that’? That couldn’t make it just magically go away! What if it was another _Bill_? What if the shape was a triangle, even though the sides were rounded? What if-

“Dipper, take a deep breath.”

“Huh?” Grunkle Ford’s hands were on Dippers shoulders, and he hadn’t realised he was breathing so hard. 

“It’s ok, it’s probably just the gnomes got a power tool again, or something. We need to bolt the door better. For now let’s head back to the shack.”

“But Grunkle Ford-“

“Come on, they’re probably worrying about us anyhow.” Really, he wasn’t just saying it being Dipper home so he could calm down. You disappear into a portal for a few decades and suddenly your twin gets all antsy if you go completely off grid in a strange, magical forest for a few hours.  
Really, what _was_ this universe coming to?

True, Ford had forgotten a few fundamental details about this dimension when he was drifting which could be cause for concern, but Stanly had helped jog his memory a bit. (Oh, while we are on the subject, in case you are wondering, it is _not_ ok to give children weapons in this dimension, and speed limits _do_ apply even if you are towing a boat for scientific purposes, especially if your licence expired no less than 30 years ago) Still, surely it was acceptable to go missing for just a few hours! Or, you know, days.

Well, even if it was, it was not ok if you were a kid, or even a teenager, so Dipper should get back to the comfort of the shack anyway. _Not_ that Stan was in charge of him, if anything Ford had to be, he _was_ 15 minutes older, but he might be annoyed if Ford brought back Dipper any more stressed than he was already. 

Plus, he couldn’t bear to see his Great Nephew (grephew? And... Grease? Sorry, his Griece? He’d have to ask Mabel what she thought that could be called later) look so distressed.  
Was he perhaps thinking about Bill?

Suppose he needed some closure after that last Summer? If Children experience traumatic things and don’t have it addressed it could have serious repercussions, Ford seemed to recall. 

_Especially_ if Dipper chose to bottle it up or didn’t have a good support system or something. 

Yep. That could be a complete _disaster_.


	7. Waffles for Brunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven finally chooses to make the treacherous, perilous journey into the loud, unforgiving city, full to the brim with strangers. Does danger lurk in every corner as our hero searches relentlessly for the sweet, tender care that can only given by Waffles?
> 
> Alternative (less dramatic) summary: Steven awkwardly buys waffles at a diner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I think this is slightly more lengthy! Finally!   
> Hope you enjoy!

This was a complete _disaster_. 

Steven couldn’t blend in _one bit_.  
For one thing he kept glowing pink, therefore had to put his hands over his cheeks to stop it showing, and do his best to bite on his lip or distract himself so it didn’t spread. Thankfully his mouth was full of his saliva, so if he bit too hard it didn’t matter!

Ok, he seriously needed a new distraction.

Plus it seemed that almost everyone knew everyone else in this town, and most appeared to have some sort of sixth sense that immediately told them that he wasn’t from around here.

Steven looked at his reflection in a window. 

The hybrid runaway looked exhausted. His clothes were a bit weather beaten and his hair was sticking up more than usual due to his sleeping on the ground.  
Steven shook the leaves out as soon as he noticed them.

No wonder people were occasionally shooting him odd looks. Well, he _felt_ like they were. It was hard to tell, he was avoiding all eye contact. 

Steven was _used_ to being unable to blend in, but usually it was because people knew him. Gems and humans would wave and share a joke, he’d help them with something and then they’d go. Go and leave him....

Now people were looking at him like... some sort of stranger. Well, he was a stranger to them, but what if they thought that _he_ was strange?

Steven’s eyes traveled down to his stomach. If he looked very carefully a faint circle outline could be seen where his bellybutton should be.

Were humans staring at his gem? Was it hidden well enough?

Was it glowing when he turned pink?

Did they know that he was an alien?

A diamond?

A... _shatterer_?

No, Steven was being paranoid, no one knew he was an alien, or a diamond or anything else. He was just a human here. Another good old human being.

Aaaaand he needed to stop calling them ‘human beings’, that made him sound like an alien.

He’d been feeling less and less human since ice skating with Connie. Being Stevonnie had reminded him just how human and... and how happy and confident he could feel. 

Somehow all that had lead to proposing to her....?

And seeing his dad in that photo... he looked so human compared to Steven. So... so human...

He felt his gem glow slightly and his cheeks light up and he was in danger of it spreading all over. Steven _needed_ a distraction.

Why didn't he get some food? He hadn’t eaten since... Steven thought back carefully.... since that fish. Yesterday. Or was that the day before? _How_ had he eaten a fish?

And... cooked it?

And.... even killed it?

To be honest that whole three days had blurred together a bit. It was just anger and frustration and letting out what he thought he needed to let out. 

Steven, thankfully, knew now that he just needed to bottle it all up, he’d end up hurting someone if he didn’t.

Humans were far more fragile than Gems. Steven told himself to keep pretending he was fine, and that he was _not_ a fraud until he could get away from human civilisation. The he could stop! Unfortunately he’d have to go back in the forest for that, he supposed.

Wait...

Was he in the forest with Jasper for three whole days? Steven... wasn’t exactly sure...

And his cheeks were glowing again, **nope** not going there, time to get food!

Steven felt like blocking his ears like a young child and going “lalalala” to block out his own thoughts. Only he couldn’t, because they were in his own head.

Food could distract him, that sounded good. 

That was what he usually did. 

Though now it seemed less appealing. Steven remembered Greg’s ‘inspiring’ words after the crash: “we’ll get you some more ice cream” blah blah blah.... so on and so forth. But that couldn’t solve everything! Steven was being _bad_ , he wanted his dad to tell him off, or help him fix it. 

Even so he was hungry, so he needed to eat. At least that was something he could fix on his own.

The dinner he found was called ‘Greasy’s diner’. It looked like a log on a train car from the outside. 

Steven sat in a booth feeling anything but hungry, waiting for a server and thinking about how he could make himself more inconspicuous.

Perhaps his jacket was too bright and he should loose it. 

But it was a lovely and warm jacket, and when he wasn’t glowing it was freezing outside, especially since the sun had only just risen. He knew it would get rather hot during the day though. It was Summer... Wasn’t it?

So perhaps it wasn’t too bad of an idea?

A woodpecker drilled a hole over his head, until a man called out “Honey, it’s time to get going.” Was the bird’s name ‘Honey’, or-

“Hello!” A woman with oddly styled grey hair stood in front of him with a notepad and a pencil, seemingly to take his order. She had one eye closed. It reminded Steven a little too much of Volleyball to feel comfortable. He shifted in his seat.

“Oh, um. Hi.” Steven smiled. He hadn’t even looked at the menu yet. Well, he could take a wild guess. “Do you have... waffles?” 

“May--be.... wink!” She Pulled open her closed eye and pulled it shut, grinning like this was her favourite joke, that she made for every customer. “Are you from outta town?” 

“Um... yeah.”

“CoOOL.” She had a weird way of speaking, drawing out some words and putting emphasis on others. Suddenly her phone rang in her pocket. She smiled apologetically and picked it up. The phone looked quite new, either it was or she just rarely used it. Steven hoped she wasn’t lonely if she didn’t get many phone calls.

“Hello! No, I’m _working_! You’ll have to call me back sweetie” She chided. Perhaps she was speaking to her child, or partner. She rolled her... eye and smiled at Steven again. He smiled back awkwardly. 

“Take your time.” He mouthed.

“ _Mr Cat Face!_ I’m not taking time off work. Don’t you hiss at me!” 

Steven blinked. Mr ‘ _Cat_ face’. 

She was talking to a... cat?

Not that he was judging! He spoke to Cat Steven as if he were a person all the time, but... he couldn’t operate a phone?

The lady hung up and put the phone back in her pocket, behind her apron.

“Sorry, he’s _so-ooo_ needy! Waffles?” He nodded and she called off towards what he presumed was the kitchen. “Pacifica! Tell the cooks we need one plate of waffles for the traveler!” The waffles came in a huge pile, satisfying the hunger Steven hadn’t even realised that he had. They had no strawberries or popcorn, but they were still delicious. He’d forgotten how nice breakfast could be, he’d gotten so used to protein shakes. 

Now he needed to leave. And pay. He wasn’t sure about change so he put the $5 bill on the table. They cost less than that, he knew, but the change was beyond him.

The quicker he got out the sooner all these people were safe, anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If you have any suggestions on something I need to improve I’m happy to hear it! I’m always looking to improve! And thank you for all the lovely comments so far, it inspires me so much, I love writing and I’m pleasantly surprised when I see other people like what I’ve written! So thanks for reading! <3


	8. Phone calls and TV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out Steven left behind more than a tip behind at the diner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry this one took longer than usual to get out. Someone close to me wasn’t very well and when I’m stressed I write a lot as it makes me feel better, especially if I mange to add in something I find funny, BUT the quality tends to drop immensely and I wanted to wait until things had calmed down for me to edit and post this chapter.  
> The same will be true for my other fics, as I was gonna post a chapter on both of them (Why do I do so many at a time?) but didn’t want to do it at the moment. So sorry if you read my other ones, I’ll post as soon as I’m ready!  
> And I’m sorry if this one isn’t that good of a quality chapter? Hope you enjoy either way.  
> (Also Sorry for the long note!)

Pacifica wiped down the tables mindlessly as she hummed some silly tune. 

_Ugh_. Working was really hard. Who knew that you should wipe off the previous diner’s old food before you let the next person sit down? And that you couldn’t sweep it onto the seat either? 

Well, she knew now, she supposed. Pacifica was getting used to work. It’d take awhile but she was a little better at this stuff than she used to be. Out of her and her parents she had adjusted best to the change in economic standpoints. Her Mother was still _particularly_ upset at the loss of the majority of the peacocks. Their feathers had looked absolutely darling in a hat!

It was still early morning, almost lunchtime (not too far from her break, thankfully) and yet they’d already had too many customers for her taste.

Though seeing all these different people was interesting enough. There were families, grandparents, tourists, well dressed people and... occasionally rather odd people. 

Not that she was judging them! Pacifica had promised Dipper and Mabel she’d try to view others positively.

“Wha?” Pacifica had been cleaning the booth closest to the door when she discovered a few leaves and twigs on the seat.

Well, she wasn’t touching that, what if the seat was growing or something? You never knew in Gravity Falls, it could be anything! What if it was poisonous?

“Lazy Susan? Come here! What _is_ that?”

“It’s just a few leaves! One of our customers had a few in his hair!” Lazy Susan remembered because Mr Cat Face had called in a tizzy at the same time. The stranger had been kind about it though, and left a nice tip.

Mr Cat Face was annoyed because his food bowl looked empty, and his paws were incapable of shaking it to spread the biscuits evenly. The poor thing was starving, but couldn’t possibly eat under such conditions. Even so he was only supposed to use the phone for emergencies! She’d have to give him a telling off when she got home.

“Ohh.” Pacifica hadn’t noticed a customer with leaves in their hair, but she barely remembered anyone who wasn’t local.

And even then there was a fifty fifty chance she’d remember their name.....

Well, there was that guy she remembered that looked like his hair was on fire! She remembered his visit vividly! Thankfully it turned out it was only his hat that was on fire, so all was well in the end. (Well, the man had seemed to think so. Pacifica knew that burnt hats were so last season!)

“Can you... deal with it? It might be dirty.” Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to call Dipper!

Oh, Dipper _and_ Mabel, not just Dipper! 

They were both back for the Summer and Pacifica wanted them to be her friends. 

She wasn’t used to doing it with people who weren’t children of her parent’s rich friends or worshippers of her every movement, so she was still getting the hang of it. 

She stuck a coin in the phone and waited. 

And waited.

Oh right, she had to put in the Pine’s number, her old phone would have done that for her. Unfortunately she didn’t take it to work, because if she was caught using it Susan said she’d had to confiscate it.

“Hello, this is Waddles leave a message after the ‘Mabel’....”

Waddles oinked. 

“It’s _Pacifica_ , Mabel.” She had recently developed an annoying habit of pretending to be her pig’s voice mail, as apposed to answering normally.

“Oh! Hey Pacifica! Dipper’s not here, he’s doing some nerd thing. I think.” Mabel put down Waddles, who was wiggling a little in her arms anyway, so she could hold the phone properly. 

“Oh, well... tell him to call me after work?”

“Of course!” Mabel giggled. And Dipper called _her_ Boy-Crazy! 

The she heard the front door open followed by two pairs of footsteps. 

Finally, that must mean that Dipper and Ford were back!

“Gotta go!” She rushed out to the hall. 

The first thing she noticed was that Ford was practically carrying Dipper, but she brushed it aside.

“Dipper! Where were you? Grunkle Stan made Stan-cakes! They’ve probably gone co-“ Dipper blinked a bit and bit his lip nervously. “A-are you ok Bro-Bro?” 

“What?” 

“You look really tired.” Mable commented. “And you, Grunkle Ford! You didn’t follow those tracks, did you?” She was grinning, but had a shadow of worry in her eyes. 

So Dipper wasn’t the only one thinking of last Summer then.

“Yes, there wasn’t anything interesting. You two needn’t look so concerned. Perhaps... perhaps only Stan and I should-“

“I’m on Summer break!” Stanly moaned from the kitchen.

“Ok then. Perhaps only _I_ should stick to looking into anomalies alone. Or not at all. We can have a nice, normal summer.” Though that would practically _kill_ Ford he’d do it if it made the kids happy.

At hearing this suggestion one part of Dipper wanted to scream ‘ _ **No**_!’ Because he was _so_ curious about the mysteries still riddled through Gravity Falls. Plus he barely had anything for his notebook!

But.... On the other hand...

There was an awkward silence between the three of them.

“Just. Promise it’s not... him.” Mable gripped her twin’s hand, crushing it a little in her vice-like grip.

He didn’t mind.

“I promise. We erased him with Stan’s memories, remember?”

“Well I don’t.” Grunkle Stan carried in a plate of Stan cakes for them all, having given up on trying to bring them into the kitchen to eat.

“Ha _ha_.” Ford laughed dryly, giving his brother a glare for the poor timing. “Anyway, I promise. You can come mystery hunting with me still _only_ _if you want,_ and I promise that it’s not going to be Bill _.”_

Well then there was only one obvious option.

“I still wanna come! I can join in your _Nerd_ journeys.” Mable practically shouted, despite their promises of a normal summer. 

“Hurry up and eat these Pancakes, they aren’t gonna be any better with age!”

“Just like _someone_ we know...” muttered Ford, enjoying having a brother to make little digs at. Interplanetary dust just doesn’t react in the same way. Or, you know, doesn’t react in any way.

“We. Are. The. Same. Age!” Everyone laughed. This summer was gonna be nice. No Bill, no bad mysteries. Just fun. 

“... Wait.... wait, you’re OLDER than me!” Stan protested.

Once they finished all the Stan-cakes they settled in front of the TV, with Stan on the couch, Ford on a chair from the table and the kids on the floor. 

The television was littered with fun summer programs and adds for useless items that no one wanted or needed. As per usual.

This particular one had stinging neon colours that made you blink and disproportionately loud background music, so the presenter had to shout to be heard. Not that if it were any quieter he wouldn’t have shouted.

**“Is your radio far to loud?”**

“Why yes, yes it is!” Grunkle Stan kept moaning at Wendy for listening to music too loud while she worked. It attracted....(He shuddered)... teenagers! (Never mind that Technically Mabel and Dipper were teenagers now.)

**“Well then you need _The Silent Radio_** **™** **~ _!_** ** _The Silent Radio_** **™** **is the only silent radio available that** **brings you all of the stations, from anywhere in the East Hemisphere!” **Was that... even a place? **“** ** _The Silent Radio_** **™** **can also play CD’s, and hundreds of different stations! All without** **any of that horrible noise!”**

“Well that sounds _perfect_!” Stan commented. Ford rolled his eyes.

“Grunkle Stan!!” Mabel slugged him in the arm. 

“Ha, ha, ha... ow.”

**“So buy _The Silent Radio_ _™_ today!”**

Yep, they could all tell that this was gonna be the perfect Summer!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never tried writing Pacifica before, hope I did ok! Though I hadn’t done any of the Gravity Falls characters before this fic I guess.
> 
> Anyway hope you enjoyed! I had to put in my own little TV joke because I enjoyed the ones in the actual show.


	9. I’m more than one call away...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie decides to check on Steven via a phone call, as she’s getting worried. 
> 
> (As she should be).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you’re all well! Things are looking a lot better with my family, which is nice. So I’m back in the swing of things!
> 
> Also at the moment this is still happening about the time Steven was getting waffles and after that.

Steven hadn’t answered his phone since they went to the hospital. 

Well, she hadn’t actually started trying to call him until a day or so ago, but they hadn’t talked _at all_ since the hospital. Usually Steven texted Connie _almost every day_ , even after the whole ‘proposal’ thing....

She had so many things to ask him.   
Was he embarrassed about the hospital, was that why they’d stopped talking?

Was he still glowing pink and swelling up? That really couldn’t be good for him!

If he didn’t respond by he end of the day maybe she’d swing by his place, Lion would cut down her travel time and she could put two study breaks together so she could spend more time with him...

Though he really hated it if he was interfering with her schedule.

Connie found it sweet that he cared that much, though he should know that if he needed help she would happily stop studying for a day or so. Longer, if he wanted. Though she knew that truthfully he’d never want her to sacrifice anything for her.

Would Steven even _want_ Connie coming over? They were best friends. Perhaps even Boyfriend and Girlfriend, though neither had said so out loud, only sharing some brief kisses on the cheek. 

Looking back on the proposal Connie couldn’t help but think that Garnet must have been involved. She was always up for fusion and marriage, and Steven didn’t really know the ins and outs of it, therefore probably wouldn’t have come up with the idea himself. 

Though being a hopeless romantic he’d probably have jumped right on the idea. Especially if he felt lonely or something...

Maybe she should visit Steven now? It wasn’t _quite_ her study break yet but it was already midday, the second day of him not responding, and she was starting to worry. 

When she saw for herself that he was home (hopefully not glowing or swelling) she could study peacefully. She was far too distracted to do so at the moment anyway.

”You reached the phone of Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe! Leave a message after the _beep_!”   
_Beep_.

“Hey Steven, I’m just leaving a message to say I was gonna hop over there in 5 minutes? I hope that’s ok?”

Then as soon as she put the phone back down, she instantly got a call from his number. Finally, Steven must have picked up her message! Even if he didn’t want her over she’d be glad to hear his voice. Just knowing he was ok was more than enough.

“Steven! You finally picked up! I can’t believe we haven’t spoken since-“

“This isn’t Steven, he left his phone in his room. Is he... not with you then?” Pearl’s anxious voice came from her phone, slightly muffled. Right, it was the Little Homeschool’s lunch hour. Pearl didn’t eat, but sometimes came home during the break. And sometimes she even took Bismuth and they’d spend lunch together.

“No, did he say he was coming over then?”

“He’s not? Oh.” Pearl sounded bitterly disappointed. Did that mean he had said he was coming to Connie’s? Well, if he had left awhile ago he’d surely be there soon. 

Only... he usually told her when he was coming over...

“We actually haven't been in contact since we went to the hospital.”

“Hospital?! Are you ok?” Connie blinked. If Pearl didn’t know... He didn’t tell them?

“Not for me, for Steve-“

“He... WHAT? Hospital... WHEN WAS STEVEN IN THE HOSPITAL?!?” Nope, he definitely hadn’t told them. 

“A week or so ago, we were asking my mom about his glowing and swelling.”

“Well, he _has_ been glowing but why wouldn’t he tell us he was IN THE _HOSPITAL_?” Pearl was panicking. She sounded a little betrayed too, worried that Steven had kept this from her.

Weren’t hospitals a big thing for humans? 

And he was half gem. How would human doctors react to that? Did he just see Connie’s Mum, she was nice, or did he see someone else? 

Connie attempted to pull the conversation slightly back on track.

“So... you _don’t_ know where he is now?“

“No, he just ran away! Garnet can’t see, Amethyst is worried and I’m furious!” She didn’t exactly _sound_ furious. “We checked in the forest he ran away to last-“

“He ran away to the forest? When-“

“4 days ago, he was training with Jasper, but she won’t tell us what’s happening. And she keeps calling him _her Diamond_!”

“You... You mean he’s run away _twice_ now?” That didn’t sound good. He could have gone anywhere, Steven had friends all over beach city he could stay with!

What was going on with him recently?

Steven hadn’t seemed himself recently, _especially_ since the proposal. He always communicated, even if it was just a silly picture of lion or a meme he discovered (usually an old one she’d already seen, but she still found it cute), and usually he reached out first. Instead he’d seemed overall quite down at the moment and he’d managed to wreak the room he was in at the hospital.

She started firing questions at Pearl.

Had they told Greg that Steven was missing? Or the police? Had he taken food? His car? Money?

“No, he didn’t have any food or money. But he didn’t when he disappeared with Jasper, and he was fine I think. No, he just ran. Faster than... anything. We didn’t tell the police; it’s happened before anyway. And this isn’t a human thing. He needs to _talk_ with us.” Pearl sounded concerned but not ‘this 16 year old with superpowers and little idea on how society works ran away in a panic _twice_ , has no food, we have no way to contact him and we have done nothing to help the situation’ concerned. More just ‘he should hurry up and return so we can ask him what’s happening, because I’m not sure what’s up’ concerned.

“Did you at least tell Greg?” Connie repeated, as Pearl had either forgotten or ignored that part of the question.

“Well... he’s still upset about the van, we told him about the first time though, I think he thinks Steven is back...”

“What? What happened to the van?”

“Steven crashed it, the other day. It was so irresponsible, he knows how fragile Greg is-“

“What about _Steven_ , was he hurt?”

“Greg said he blacked out for about 5 minutes and he had to pull Steven out of the van and call the tow truck, but he was fine once he woke up!”

“What? Did he hit his head? Did you check if he had a concussion or anything?”

“No? He was fine, he’s a gem! He’s been in worse crashes.” Connie wasn’t sure what to say to that. Steven was in a car crash and they brushed it aside like it was nothing? And now Steven had run away? They needed to find him, even if he was 16 Steven still wasn’t ready for being on his own. It sounded like he wasn’t in a good state of mind either.

She recalled being Stevonnie last time, at the roller rink. It hadn’t felt so open, like he was hiding some feelings or thoughts away from Connie in the fusion. He never did that. She hadn’t thought much about it at the time but...

“That’s it, I’m coming over and we can look in beach city for Steven.” Why hadn’t they done that before? Pearl sounded more inconvenienced than concerned really, how were the other gems reacting? “Are you sure he didn’t take the warp?”

“No. We thought he might just need some space! We would’ve looked for him otherwise!” Pearl suddenly felt a pit in her stomach. The worry she’d been pinning back with annoyance suddenly seemed to topple over her. Was Steven really ok? It wasn’t normal for Humans to run away like that, and he’d left his phone. How would they find him? 

“Well... at least we know that he couldn’t have gone far.“ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t sure if Steen had his phone with him when he was with Jasper, but in this version he left it at home. So... yes.
> 
> Please feel free to leave any criticism or comments, I’m always looking to improve and love the feedback I get. It’s my first time writing Gravity Falls, so I hope the characters are ok!


	10. The Mystery hack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven... needs a distraction.
> 
> TW: Kind of a description of a panic attack? At least, it’s based off of my personal experiences.  
> If you want to avoid this skip from ‘Breathe’- just after flashback (Large italics), to ‘instead of going back to the forest...’ IDK if it’s an extremely accurate representation so I’m sorry if it’s not! I just used what I’ve experienced, and been told was a panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEK! Almost 150 kudos! That may not be a lot to some of you, but that makes me so happy! So thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Steven was fine, really, he was **fine**. He just needed... A distraction, was all.  
Everything seemed to irritate the glowing teen since he’d left the diner. His hunger had been curved, and suddenly the world around him was that much clearer. Somehow more real? He hadn’t noticed it as much before... But now? There were too many bright colours everywhere... Too many eyes.  
He was _completely_ trapped. Just like in the warp stream, in space, in the ocean.... Sure, there was a _lot_ of space that he was trapped in this time, yet still he felt like he could barely breathe. He’d been hovering around the town of Gravity Falls for a few hours. It was probably about 2pm. 

Steven sighed openly knowing there was so much of this already long and stressful day to get through.

Why did people keep talking to him? He didn’t know where the museum was, he wasn’t lost and he really, _really_ didn’t want a chicken! Couldn’t they leave him alone? ...What if he hurt them?

And when had he started associating the name ‘Steven Universe’ with hurting people?! Why in Homeworld did he keep pretending to be that sweet little kid? He wasn’t anymore, not really. He was just a fraud, a fake, a sham.

Ok, Steven _needed_ to distract himself before he started glowing in front of all these people and he didn’t feel like going back in the forest yet. 

He didn’t feel like going back at all.

Just the association... The forest, camp, Jasper... _the orange shards glinting happily in his shaking hands as his insane laughter died in his throat. Slowly Steven realised what had happened. What he had done. Then was on auto pilot, he had to fix this he had to help her **this wasn’t happening**! Suddenly he was back in the beach house, crying, hoping, praying that this would work.  
He was evil, he was a shatterer, he wasn’t a Crystal Gem, he never had been!_

_Then... Jasper materialised, shocked, wet. **Approving**. He was her Diamond now. He’d earned the wretched title, now he was to forever be known as a Diamond. A shatterer. _

_Her horn was chipped. Her marks were a bit disturbed. He’d **done** that, there was no going back. If he had KILLED the strongest soldier he knew what could Steven do to Amethyst, who was a much smaller Quartz? To Pearl? Garnet, even? And... what about Connie? They all already hated him, this would make it far worse._

_He had to get away, Steven needed to-_

Breathe... he needed to breathe. Steven’s chest was so tight, and the world spinning so much that he wanted to throw up. And he was so hot... why was he so hot? His mind kept wobbling off in different directions, a song he’d long forgotten plaguing his mind so that he couldn’t concentrate on calming down. He felt like he was _dying_... but why? He was most likely safe (for once), why did he feel like this now?

He _needed_ a distraction, he was already glowing bright pink and hurting any one of these humans was not an option.

Eventually he calmed enough to stop glowing. He still felt hot and sick and wobbly and _really_ tired but Steven’d felt worse before! This was fine.

He just needed a distraction was all.

_Any_ distraction.

Please something give him a distraction.

Instead of going back into the forest the hybrid came across a run down little shack. It would make a... rather large dent in his small amount of cash, but he didn’t really care. He just... he just needed _something_. Anything! 

It was called: The ‘Mystery _~~S~~_ hack’. Cool, Steven loved mysteries, the Unfamiliar Familiar series was full of them and had even made him partial to shows like ‘Ducktective’. Though Crying Breakfast Friends was always a favourite. And Under The Knife, especially with Connie.

_Connie_. Oh stars. He missed her so much already. Even if he wanted to leave, he couldn’t. 

_If._

Steven was scared enough that he might hurt these random people without having the love of his life thrown into the mix. 

Though... he’d been avoiding contact since the hospital visit, and so had she. So maybe she was upset he’d wrecked the room? _He_ was certainly embarrassed about it.

... Maybe... what if she didn’t wanna be friends anymore? He had left her without telling! Maybe he should send her a message, call her with a pay phone or something?

But maybe she wouldn’t want to speak to him. She probably would hate him now... did she even know he’d left? She wouldn’t want to be his friend, let alone his girlfriend...

Ok, he really needed this distraction!

“Welcome to the Mystery Shack dudes!” A tubby man, maybe in this late 20’s, With an eyepatch and a suit greeted him when he stepped in the shack. Steven was surrounded by a bunch of other tourists. The man who was apparently the owner almost looked like some kind of... large hairless gopher?  
The tour was interesting, everything looked... questionable, to say the least, but it was really enjoyable. A good distraction.

There wasn’t one gem related thing there too. And nothing that threatened his life. It was nice to mix things up for a change.

“Any questions?” The man, Mr Mystery, asked at the end standing outside the gift shop doorway in the hall. 

“Is the invisible man... invisible? Or is he a man?”

“FAQ dude, check that wall over there!” 

“Why in the name of waffle irons are his glasses and hat... visible?“

Again, the tourist was directed to the FQA wall. That was a _very_ good idea of Melody’s.

Steven raised his hand shyly.

He could speak to an entire alien species freely, where many of the audience had tried to kill him, but 15 or so people was what scared him into being shy? ‘ _Way to have social skills_ ’ Steven scolded himself mentally before clearing his throat. He hadn’t remembered to get a drink and was suddenly very thirsty.

“Um... is there a barrier? Like, stopping things leaving Gravity Falls?” The hybrid asked, trying to sound calm like he knew how to speak to hu— people, to people. 

“Ugh....Legally I have to say ‘never mind all that’.” Mr Mystery smiled and continued with the questions. 

Odd.

But at the end he pulled Steven to the side just before he entered the gift shop. He informed him that if he was really especially interested he should ask “that dude over _there”_.

The man was wearing a red long sleeved jumper, likely homemade, with a handprint on it, along with stout boots and cracked glasses. His hair was grey and he looked older than Greg. Dad. When had Steven started called his Dad ‘Greg’ in his head?

He probably didn’t deserve to call him Dad anymore anyway. Not after he’d crashed his van, the very vehicle he’d traveled in and lived since before Steven was even born. 

The one Steven had grown up in. Instead of in a proper home. With schooling. And doctors. And grandparents. 

“H-Hi.” Steven gave the man a stiff smile. He was usually good at fake smiling but it was weird giving it to, and seeing, new people. New gems, sure, but new humans? Not so much.

“Greetings! Did you have a question for me?” He asked. Direct. Steven liked it. He didn’t want to talk for long. As much as he was dreading the cold (memory provoking) forest it was better than being out here.

Possibly hurting people.

In retrospect (when he wasn’t panicking and glowing neon pink) it was a terrible idea to come here.

Steven quickly put a hand up to his face as if to rub his nose and tried to calm down.

“Ugh... was there some kind of... bubble or shield protecting the town?”

“Why yes, it keeps in all of the anomalies, Gravity Falls is full of them! I’ve made it my life’s work to study them. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to study the force field closely as humans pass right through it. Why do you ask?”

Steven blinked. So humans _could_ go through it. He rubbed his nose again, needing more than a second to calm down this time. Should he tell this man or?

No, then he’d have to explain why. 

And no one would want to talk to some evil Alien murderer.

Steven scoured his tired mind for a different excuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay we get to watch Steven fall apart a second time.... I’m sorry Steven.
> 
> Hope things aren’t going too fast. This probably wasn’t how most of you expected them to meet?  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave criticism or suggestions! Some of the comments I’ve received make me laugh so much...


	11. The Mystery hack (again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan is a big softie at heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter! The next one will be out within the day (or at least, my day). Thought they’d work better separately, though they are both done and ready to post!  
> (Also please let me know if the POV switches are too confusing, I’ll try and fix it)  
> Hope that you enjoy!

Ford was taking to a young man, definitely _not_ 18 yet, who looked extremely weather beaten and tired.

Stan usually ignored all the tourists (he could maintain as many brain cells as possible that way) but this person looked... different. There was a distinct lack of big oversized travel bags and bright clothes (other than the jacket, which was dirt anyway), he also didn’t have a phone or camera and wasn’t snapping photos every 3 seconds. The kid kept rubbing his nose nervously and blinking lots, leading Stan to think that he looked _very_ flustered and nervous. To top it off he was wobbling all over the place, like Mabel on a sugar crash, only this seemed to be out of nervousness and exhaustion.

Poor kid looked like he’d been kicked out of home.

Like Stan had been...

What if he _had_ been kicked out? 

Or what if he was a runaway? Shouldn’t he head back to his family? Where was he staying? If the leaf in his hair was any indicator...

_Was_ he kicked out like Stan or had he left by choice? What could drive a kid to run away with (apparently) nothing?

Maybe he was homeless? Maybe his whole family was with him if he was, or maybe he was alone?

Stan felt unusually curious.

Usually he stayed far, far away from asking anyone anything that could turn into a sob story. That one time he’d accidentally watched a soap opera was already enough ‘feelings’ to last a lifetime.

But... he decided to come up and join his twin’s and this man’s conversation. Just for the sake of it, he had nothing better to do anyway.

What?! That really was the **_only_** reason!

“Well... I knew about the barrier because.... I... Ugh...” Stan didn’t bother to let him finish stumbling through his... what he had to assume was supposed to be a sentence.

“Whatcha want kid? You gonna buy something?” Stan asked gruffly. Ford rolled his eyes. The teen looked alarmed and jumped back a little, blushing pink.

“Um... no, sorry. I can leave!” The kid turned around. But... Stan had a strange urge to talk to him for a bit longer. Maybe it was his pitifully tired, almost desperate eyes... ones he’d seen every time he looked at his reflection before he.... ‘borrowed’ the Mystery Shack. 

“Ugh” Stan moaned. Curse his selfless and giving heart.... “hold on.”

“Y-Yes?” (Since when did he stutter?)

“You with here with family or...?”

“No. I... I mean yes! I mean...” 

There was a small silence. Stan sighed again.

“You need a couch for the night?” Ford looked taken aback by his brother’s sudden and completely unprovoked hospitality. Usually he was strict with customers, and even though he didn’t own the shack anymore it seemed like a counterproductive thing to do to offer free accommodation.

But then... this kid looked like he needed a good rest. Perhaps he’d been kicked out or something. 

Like... Stan had been. Ford looked at his brother, smiling a little as he caught on. Stan started glaring back at him with a vengeance.

If looks could kill...

“I-I couldn’t, I might... what if I...”

Steven felt torn. That sounded _amazing._ The soft comfy cushions of a sofa in comparison to the rough dirt floor. 

Only... he had run away so he was away from people, and so that he couldn’t hurt them. _If_ he stayed here could he end up hurting these kind people, and that was the opposite of what he wanted to do! And stay here for free? He didn’t want to intrude.

What if he glowed? It was hard enough rubbing his nose every 3 seconds, what if it spread all over his body?

What if he shouted and knocked down the whole building? 

What if they found out he was an Alien? A shatterer? A diamond?

“I couldn’t do that. It’s fine, I can-“

Now the kid looked like a deer in headlights. Ford jumped in.

“Nonsense, we’d be very happy to have you.” 

Steven smiled apprehensively at the two older men. They looked rather similar. Unconsciously they both shifted their glasses at the exact same time.   
  
“If you _really_ don’t want to have it for free you could work with Soos for a few hours to pay us back.”

That sounded much better. Only...

“Sorry, I’m not really good with change or anything, Mr....” Another lesson he’d been deprived of. Basic maths. 

He thought back to the memory deeply imprinted in his brain, the one from when when he’d sold the Watermelon Steven’s that he’d grown (forgoing the memory of baby melon sacrificing himself). He felt so stupid looking back on it now. “100 pieces of money”... Though he’d spent many nights secretly watching ‘How-To’ maths videos online he found it really hard to understand the value of money and how change worked. It was something he’d kind of given up on at this point.

“Pines, Stan Pines, and this is Ford. And that’s great, _you_ wouldn’t be working the cash register kid.” Stan chucked at the thought. Like he’d trust this kid with his precious register! He barely trusted Wendy! Plus, He was a runaway, or a kid who’d been kicked out, and would probably take any chance he’d get to steal some loose change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Steven would be a bit embarrassed about knowing little about human things (Think Bismuth Casual). 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Lemme know if there is anything I need to improve or anything.


	12. Meet Steven.... DeMayo... yeah, DeMayo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I’ve taken some things from the comics, apparently they were ‘Cannon-ish’, but in this fic they are. It’s basically explained anyway, you probably wouldn’t have to read the comic to understand!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Dipper was perplexed when Stan demanded that he should get some sheets and blankets and set up the couch as a bed. Was Mabel having a sleepover with Candy and Grenda? They always stayed in the bedroom though, and Mabel would set all that up alone. Plus, the single seater couch was barely large enough for _one_ person to lie down on, and that was with the footrest up. There would be no space for anyone else.

Mabel was helping him anyway but it was pretty weird. Perhaps Grunkle Stan has scammed Someone into giving him money by offering them a ‘Luxury stay at the Haunted Shack of Mystery Horror’? Because if so he was _not_ making ghost noises again all night, last time he and his sister lost their voices for 3 days! Though he’d teased Mabel for awhile after that ‘the quiet was _sooo_ nice‘.

It got even weirder when a random teenager he’d never seen was practically pushed into the living room by Stan, interrupting Dipper’s thoughts.

He didn’t _look_ like the type Grunkle Stan would usually get to pay up, nor the kind that wanted to be kept up all night by ‘ghosts’.

He had dark, curly hair, already rather tired eyes and slightly worn clothes. They looked like they’d been stretched to fit someone taller and then put back on someone normal sized.

Mabel was, of course, all over him, stars in her eyes.

“Where’d you get that jacket?! It’s so pink! Your hair is so curly! Can I style it later? How old are you? And your shirt has a star! My sweater has a star! _And_ it’s pink too! Twins!”

“Mabel, you have an _actual_ twin.” The teenager looked taken aback.

“You guys are twins? But I thought your... grandparents? Uncles?”

“Grunkles!!”

“Great Uncles.” Explained Dipper. He didn’t know anyone else who called them ‘Grunkles’ so it probably warranted an explanation.

That distracted Steven for a second. Stars shone in _his_ eyes like they hadn’t in a long, long time (even if they weren’t quite so shining as they used to be) as he contemplated this concept. Imagine both _having_ and _staying with_ your very own uncle... Let alone one they described as ‘great’!

“Wow... I’ve never had an _actual_ uncle.” Andy wasn’t really his actual uncle. More his... second cousin once removed or something? And the diamonds didn’t really count as family. Steven didn’t even want to think about being related to _them_ in any way at the moment. Especially White.  
He still shuddered if anyone other than him put their hand near his gem, and sometimes when he woke up he’d clutch at his shirt, praying it was still there.

It always was, thankfully.

Didn’t make him any less nervous around White Diamond. Especially if they were alone.

Oh Stars, he’d been staring into space for awhile huh?

“Anyway, I kinda thought _they_ were twins.”

“They _are_! We are too, it runs in the family~.” Mable hit Dipper playfully in the arm. Steven tensed. Another distant memory floated back into his mind, for some reason prevailing over all his many other ‘fighting’ memories. 

Pearl and Amethyst had fought at the kindergarten, hadn’t they? Oh stars, Steven was so dangerous for them, even back then!... If... If he hadn’t made that bubble Pearl would have poofed, Amethyst would have felt horrible and blamed herself (though it would’ve been his fault if they got hurt) and... well, though that wasn’t quite so important, he might have been crushed by the injector-

“Ow! Mabel, cut it out!”

“Baby! I didn’t hit you that hard!” She grinned, and Dipper knew she was joking. They shared an awkward sibling hug.

Mabel had been much more... in touch with Dipper since she fought her evil self in the portal. She worked so hard to not be selfish, because sometimes it came naturally to her. They both smiled knowingly at each other. (Well, actually, Dipper didn’t entirely know what happened in there, but she’d come back a nicer sister at least. It was sweet.)

Steven sheepishly grinned too, pulling up the corners of his mouth and pushing the memory away.

“Dude, you ok? You’re blushing like crazy.” Dipper commented.

“O-Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Steven put a hand to his face. 

“Who are you anyway?” Mabel asked, leaving the hug first. 

“I’m-“ 

Who _was_ he?

He couldn’t say his full name, Steven Quartz Cutie-Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe. Could he even say he was just ‘Steven _Universe’_ anymore? No one would be _looking_ for him, the gems wouldn’t care he was gone. They’d surely be glad he wasn’t there to hurt them anymore. And if they weren’t, they needed to be. He loved them too much to hurt them. 

But, even if he wasn’t gonna be looked for like he wasn’t the Steven he was when he was younger, and almost felt weird using his name.

The one from when he was kind, and helped people and didn’t panic when someone literally _only_ asked his name. His _name_!

Maybe Steven was _ok_ to use _,_ for now _,_ but Universe? It just... felt wrong now. Especially after hearing that his last name _literally_ came from a _song!_ It wasn’t even one Greg had made up! He stole it!

Hmm. Maybe he got being a fraud from _both_ his parents.

Besides, DeMayo was a _much_ cooler name, right?

Uh oh. They were staring now.

“Sorry, I’m Steven DeMayo.” Steven concluded after a pause, running his nose and praying that the pink didn’t spread further.   
Wow, DeMayo sounded weird to say. It sounded like a condiment or some sort.

Dipper wondered why it had taken so long to answer. Perhaps it was a fake name? Grunkle Stan had _heaps_ of different aliases. 

Mabel didn’t seem to think twice about the pause though.

“Are you staying here tonight then Stevie?” The nickname made Steven jump. Spinel called him that sometimes.

“Yeah, sorry.” Why on earth did Steven keep apologising? Dipper was a little unsure about him. 

Did he have a deeper, more sinister reason to feel guilty, therefore he felt the need to apologise? Had he committed some larger scale crime than just being in their house?

Grunkle Stan left to go to the kitchen, muttering something about diner and leaving it alone too long.

“Nice to... meet you.... um... What are your names?” Steven tried and failed to sound happy and not at all awkward. 

Mabel looked at Dipper, expecting him to answer.

He was too busy trying to analyse this new and strange teenager that had just appeared, unannounced, in their shack. He seemed nice enough but Steven was also acting just _so_ nervous. What was up with him?

And, well, you can’t always trust a book by its cover. Ford had thought that Bill was a friend. Was inviting new people into their home a bad idea?

When she saw that Dipper wasn’t going to introduce himself to this interesting, tall and handsome stranger Mabel decided to jump in.

“I’m Mabel Pines, and this is Dipper! Well, that’s his nickname, his _actual_ name is-“

“Come on you knuckle heads, time for diner! Get your butts in here!” Stan interrupted from the kitchen. 

“Yes! Come on Steven!”

“N-no, that’s ok, I already ate!” Steven had eaten _lunch_ but didn’t want to steal this nice family’s food too. Perhaps he could find food in the forest when he went back tomorrow? After helping them work, of course. For now he was exhausted. He hadn’t slept much in the forest and for some reason the Pink adrenaline keeping him awake just suddenly drained out of the hybrid. 

Perhaps it was the unusually calm (at least, it was a _relatively_ calm) environment?

Perhaps running possibly hundreds of km (Steven, to be honest, didn’t have a very good idea of distance anyway) had really worn him out...

“Nonsense! Come on in and have dinner with us.” Stan pulled him to the kitchen table. Steven flinched under the touch. Sometimes he did that now, it was weird, he never used to.

”Jumpy. You don’t trust me... I like your instincts kid!” Stan patted the spot Steven should sit on, next to him on the end of the bench. They’d added benches rather than seats (that Stan _hadn’t_ stolen from the park and gotten Soos to turn into regular benches) so the whole family could sit down comfortably. Waddles sat on the floor, even though Mabel moaned that he was their equal and should be allowed to sit with the family.

“Soo.... how did you meet our Grunkles? On their trip?”

“N-no, I was just in the mystery tour. I really am fine... Mr Stanford?”

“I’m Stanley kid. He’s Stanford.” 

“O-oh.”

“It’s easy to tell them apart because Grunkle Stan _ford_ has a cool extra finger!” Mabel proclaimed. Steven blinked. He hadn’t noticed. He was used to seeing gems with 4 or more arms, as well as horns. An extra finger wasn’t much different to him.

“Cool. Must make it easy to play the piano.” He commented. He’d have to add a finger and try it out later, surely his dad had a Piano... oh... his Dad. He probably wouldn’t see his Dad again, huh?  
That was ok though! Greg was probably still mad at him anyway, he’d be glad to see the back of him. Greg’s beautiful van was all scuffed and crumpled, and it was Steven’s fault. Surely he couldn’t forgive him for that. 

Not that Steven cared too much at the moment, he was a bit annoyed with Greg.

But he still secretly wished his dad was here to pull him into a hug.

“I’ve never looked into the musical possibilities.”

“ _ **GASP**_! If you can play the piano Love Patrol Alpha can add a new member!” Mable beamed. Dipper cringed.

“I _never_ agreed to that name.” 

“I once had a band called ‘Steven and the Steven’s‘...” Steven commented, which was the first proper thing he’d said about himself.

“Tad egotistic, don't ya think?“ asked the man who held an unveiling _and_ funeral for a wax version of himself. 

“Oh, Ugh... it was just a game.” Steven laughed nervously. He’d watched himself turn into time sand and _die_ over and over and over...

“You... ok there kid?”

“Y-yeah, sorry. I just...” Oh no, oh on... what could he use as an excuse, he couldn’t say that he time traveled, normal humans didn’t do that, think Steven think! 

He looked at his full plate, at the fish that he’d pushed to the corner. “I don’t eat meat.” The fish on his plate remained completely untouched. It wasn’t a lie, but at the same time that wasn’t what they’d asked about. Guiltily he remembered that he _had_ eaten fish, but now the very thought made him feel sick. ~~**_Fraud_**~~.

“What? You one of those tree huggers?” Maybe Stan wouldn’t have to lock away all the silverware...

“Don’t worry, Grunkle Ford won’t eat sandwiches.” Mabel rambled on about foods she liked and disliked in an attempt to make Steven comfortable while Dipper sat _un_ comfortably in silence. Why were they telling this stranger so much about themselves? _Steven_ was quite quiet about his life, having only mentioned that band thing and being a vegetarian. So why were they revealing _everything_?

And why did Mabel keep fluttering her eyebrows... was this gonna be the whole gnome situation again? Please say Steven was human, please say Steven was human...

“Thank you so much.” Steven pushed away the plate, which still had everything but the salad and some chips. “Do you want me to clean up?” Stan wanted to get a full day’s work from the kid... but he looked like he was gonna pass out he was so tired.... and he wasn’t gonna give him a chance to take off with the silverware yet, just in case. That was _genuine_ stainless steel. Probably.

So instead they showed him off to bed on the couch. It wasn’t the largest or the most comfortable couch, but it was so nice for Steven, who’d been sleeping on the floor.

Stan made a mental note to make sure the TV wasn’t stolen. He knew firsthand you couldn’t trust a kid like him not to rob you of house and home. _He_ certainly wouldn’t have hesitated to when he was trying to make his fortune.

Once Steven was out of earshot and asleep Dipper started asking questions.

“Grunkle Stan who was that?” 

“Oh, some kid who was asking Ford questions in the shack gift shop. I reckon he’d be some kinda run away and thought we’d get a day’s work out of him.” Ford grinned inwardly. He knew Stan wouldn’t admit it but he felt sorry for the kid, and wanted to help him. 

“He sure blushes a lot!” Added Mabel, making Dipper think back over their meal.

His blush was _super_ pink. Not just embarrassed pink, but somehow different. 

Odd.

Glowing.

And he didn’t have anything with him. Not even a wallet or backpack. Even Grunkle Stan had a backpack.

And runaways didn’t usually visit tourist attractions.

When he said as much no one seemed to think it was that important; perhaps Steven wasn’t a runaway, but was on a trip without his family and they’d gotten separated, or he just really liked tourist traps. Maybe Dipper could investigate him further tomorrow?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steven: No one will be looking for me  
> Connie: ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?
> 
> Also, I hope the POV switches sort of thing aren’t too confusing? Lemme know what you think, I’m happy to revive criticism as well!


	13. Unlucky Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven’s been found out! Or... has he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I’ve tried to leave a bigger space where the POV switches? I hope that’s made it clearer!  
> Not sure if I like it tho. Might just stick to what I was doing but try and keep it clearer in the writing.  
> I hope that you enjoy reading anyway!

Dipper’s peaceful slumber was brutally interrupted by a panicked shout unprecedentedly early the next morning.  
No, it wasn’t from him or Mabel, who was still asleep. Usually on any given night a Bill related nightmare liked to plague one of them, the triangle wreaking havoc on their tired minds. It was always just a dream.

Even though that was the reason he’d be woken up most nights, it appeared that this time was not like that.

Mabel was still fast asleep, muttering something about ‘life guards’ and ‘princesses’, her braces whistling softly with every breath. She could have been dreaming about anything really. Who knew what rubbish cartoons and consuming inhuman amounts of glitter did to one’s brain.

The scream certainly wasn’t from him. He’d been having one of those weird dreams where you don’t remember anything, and he _always_ remembered nightmares.

Dipper concurred it must have come from one of his Grunkles, Waddles (unlikely, as he could only squeal ’Ma-bel’), or, what he felt was most likely option, Steven. 

Steven was the random kid that was asleep on their couch. 

Suddenly bursting with curiosity Dipper really couldn’t help but slip out of bed and creep silently downstairs and see what was going on. 

What if Steven had had a _Bill_ nightmare? He needed to go check right away, just in case.

Ford was there too, he happened to be a light sleeper and closest to the living room. He slept in the room that used to have _that_ carpet. The one that made him and his sister switch bodies. He was just glad they’d gotten back without either of them needing the bathroom.

His Grunkles had actually ordered bunk beds to share like they had when they were little (Mabel didn’t stop bothering them about how it was ‘sooo sweet’), but they were taking forever to arrive. And who knew how long it would take to put them together. In the meantime Ford was sleeping downstairs.

He gave Dipper a little concerned grin as he met him on the stairs, ready to ask if he and Mabel were ok, clearly thinking it was one of them who had shouted.

But, as soon as they got a glimpse of the lounge, though, neither moved from their positions frozen on the stairs, and all questions died on Ford’s lips. 

The doorway shined with soft pink light, bathing the hall and stairs. They could see from where they stood that the TV plug had been yanked out of the wall. Therefore the light definitely wasn’t coming from the TV.

The _lightbulb_ certainly wasn’t pink...

So where was it coming from? 

Curious and seemingly unfazed Ford matched into the room with his hands in fists, ready to fight. A sleepy Dipper trudged behind. Both, though, had to do a double take, and Dipper actually fell backwards at the sight in front of them.

“ _Steven_?”

The teen was glowing a neon _unnatural_ pink. It wasn’t just his cheeks but also his hair, his hands, his eyes! _Everything_. He was hugging his knees to his chest on the floor next to the couch, still fully dressed with the jacket and everything. Dipper figured that Steven must be boiling. Though that was probably the least of his problems.

Steven’s pink eyes widened. “ **F-Ford**?“ (Was it just Dipper, or did the building shake a little?) “Don’t come in!” He cried, just a tad too late. 

Steven scrabbled first the blanket to cover his pink extremities but was far too trembly. (He was already busy focusing on keeping his voice to a non glass shattering level.)

Since when was it this hard to hold the pink colouring in? He felt terrified, in danger, on edge and above all angry.

But only at himself. He was so stupid! Why had he let them catch him glowing? What was he gonna say now? Ugh... he just couldn’t do anything right at the moment! Was he just unlucky, or was this some kind of sick karma for all the bad things he’d done?

Now they were going to know, and they were going throw him out. No one wanted a fraud.

“This is...” Ford began. Steven tensed, feeling tears seep into the corner of his eyes... he could only imagine what ford might say...

This is horrific?

This is _inhuman_?

This is a _**diamond**_?

This is a _**Shatterer**_?!

“Extraordinary!” The teen relaxed, the glow fading to just his cheeks, though the shell-shocked expression remained. “How _on Earth_ did you do that?”

Behind Ford Dipper suddenly recalled the only creature he could remember being able to do something like that. It still sometimes made a guest star appearance in his Bill nightmares. A kind of Nightmare ‘crossover’, if you will. In a panic he interrupted Grunkle Ford “Are you The shapeshifter?!” 

“What? No- I’m not- oh...“ Steven wasn’t sure what to say. He’d almost forgotten that he _could,_ in actual fact, shape shift, but Dipper and Ford seemed so alarmed at the idea that he decided not to tell them. Besides, if anyone he knew was going to be called the ‘shape shifter’ it would be Amethyst.

He’d had another nightmare. That was why he was glowing. He’d had to unplug the TV the first time he woke up, after realising that it was fuzzing with static, his dream fading from the screen. He’d unplugged it in case it happened again. He should have just left instead.

Supposedly this time he couldn’t control his panicked cry. The nightmares had been getting more and more frequent recently. Last night he’d managed to skip it, due to sheer exhaustion he assumed.

Now, when Steven fell from the house with all his friends inside, a giant shadowy monster replaced him on the porch, and grew and grew until it was standing on the beach, larger than the whole temple. Then it swung its giant claw and ‘ _THWACK_ ’ the house was knocked right out of the cliff. The impact injured all his friends inside... shattering some of them _right_ before his eyes.

He always woke up in a cold sweat, bright pink and hyperventilating. Thankfully his room had walls now so no one knew about it, only Peridot. Only now he _wasn’t_ in his room, he was in someone’s house, someone who thought he was an ordinary human. Person. Whatever. He didn’t really care what he called them anymore. Why couldn’t they leave him alone?!

What was he supposed to say now?

“I-I-I-“

Dipper waited impatiently for Steven’s explanation.

What other creature could change colours?

A triangular button on the TV remote suddenly caught the adolescence’s eye. Triangle.... what if- “B-Bill?” Dipper looked ready to faint, or scream, or hit Steven over the head with the TV. He’d wondered earlier but now the possibility seemed so likely! Bill could change colours, right?! Could he become a human? Were Steven’s eyes yellow?

“Who?” Steven had to think, and fast. “No! I’m glowing because...” think, think! “Because of the woods!” Yes, the woods, he’d accidentally left a pink puddle of his tears, right? “I fell in this... weird pink coloured puddle, and I’ve been doing this ever since.” He was _lying_ , He was a complete liar, a fake, a fraud...

“Astounding! May I have a closer look?” The blush hadn’t left Steven’s face yet and Ford wanted to get a good look at it. “We found the puddle you are talking about yesterday...” yesterday? Was it early morning already? “I’m glad we didn’t touch it. Does it... hurt?” Steven flinched a little as the man leaned forward but allowed his cheeks to be peered at.

_Did_ it hurt? Well, the swelling hurt a bit, but the pink was more... of a kind of hot tingly burning sensation. It all hurt much more inside more than it did out, anyway.

Besides, he hadn’t swelled in awhile, maybe he was over it hurting him?

“Not really?”

“Why didn’t you tell us before then?” Dipper didn’t trust this guy, it all seemed to... convenient.

First, fall in a strange puddle, that as far as they knew there was only one of, start _glowing_ mysteriously and then somehow pick the Mystery Shack (of all places he could have chosen) to stay at? The place where Bill had been?

“I was... embarrassed. I’m really clumsy, I should’ve looked where I was going but I just wanted to keep running and get away from it all because they were boxing me in and I didn’t _want_ to talk they couldn’t hurt me but I felt like they were going to and they want to help they can’t help me so I ran but then I got trapped-“

“Gravity Fall’s laws of weirdness magnetism blocks you in too? Maybe it’s because of this strange phenomenon. Is that why you were asking so many questions about it?” 

Steven nodded, glad his strange little rant had been interrupted. He hadn’t wanted to talk about running away, but he couldn’t stop once he’d started rambling. It was like he was a soda bottle. He’d kept shaking and shaking, but then as soon as he opened up a tiny bit ‘boom!’ It was unstoppable. Once Amethyst had done that, but she’d shaken it so much that the cap hit the ceiling. It had made a little dent too.

Funny how the good memories lasted _just_ as well as the bad ones sometimes.

Still, his glow faded slowly, receding to his cheeks.

“How... how would you like me to try and fix it for you? You could stay here with us and I could study your Pink state. Then, once it’s fixed, you will be free to leave.” Ford suggested. “So long as you wouldn’t mind taking part in a few experiments, of course.”

“U-Um.... “ the only ‘experiments’ Steven could think of was the cluster and the forced fusion shards. But he was pretty sure there was a _much_ less traumatising human version of experiments. “I guess I can’t really go anywhere else.” But what if he hurt them like he’d hurt Jasper? He _had_ to hold back all his power, his emotions. He could do that...

Only... 

What if he dropped his guard for _just a second_ and let it slip he wasn’t human? He’d be out in the forest again. That wouldn’t be _so_ bad. But he had no more money for food and the idea catching fish again bought a nauseating feeling to his stomach.  
  


“Why were you screaming?” Dipper was sure this couldn’t be it. There had to be _something_ fishy going on, he had that instinct he got when something wasn’t quite right. He’d been right about that haunted convenience store, Mabel’s bubble and her first boyfriend in Gravity Falls. 

Steven didn’t seem to pick up on his accusatory tone.

“Oh... um.... well, I had a b-bad dream.” Steven admitted, blushing bright pink again. 

Dipper narrowed him eyes. Bill was a dream demon. A creator of nightmares. A ruler of the realm of terror.

“Was in in any way linked to...” Ford wasn’t really sure what to call this pinkness. Steven wasn’t either.

“ **N-no**!” Mrs Maheswaran’s words rung in his ears, stuff about ‘adverse childhoods’, and ‘Gem cortisol’ making him pink. “No, I... just have nightmares sometimes.” Now his whole body was pink. 

“Do...” Ford tried to think of the appropriate thing to say. Being in the portal can kind of suck away your understanding of human interaction, and he hadn’t had too much to begin with. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“ **Nope**! I don’t remember it anyway...” The pink seemed even brighter. 

Interesting.

Ford gave up on the idea of going back to bed. 

“Let me grab my journal, if you don’t mind me writing down a bit about the pink. You’ve come to the right place, Steven. I can study this phenomenon. It might help me get rid of it in the future.” Steven nodded. Sure, he could pretend that Ford could fix this, for now at least.

He really didn’t feel like going back into the forest now. Not with his nightmares still fresh on his mind. 

So _many_ shards... 

And what... or perhaps who... was that monster?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I wasn’t too sure about this chapter but I’ve rewritten it a few times and this is what we are going with! I’ve already written the next chapter, so I’ll post it soon. Tell me what you think (If you want). I’m always hoping to improve my writing. What better way than to practice?
> 
> I’m still in lockdown (please send help)...


	14. He could be where!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie has come to join the search party! Too bad it seems almost non existent....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE! This happened the day before Steven turned pink in the night, around a late lunch sort of time. Kinda around the time Steven left the diner? I’m so sorry that the timeline is confusing, I really don’t know why I wrote it this way? I need to plan better. Hope this hasn’t confused anyone!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“I’m here!” Connie got off the pink beast, who immediately flopped onto the floor in protest. He’d been getting extra time off since Connie had been too busy studying to visit, and the recent little period without contact didn’t help his already sky high apathy levels. “Where’s the... everyone?” She spun around Steven’s living room but it was completely empty. 

She knew the gems had classes to run but they really weren’t going to take an extra break or finish early to help look for Steven? Connie had rearranged her whole schedule and this was important! 

Even _Lion_ appeared to be more interested than them, and he was literally falling asleep standing up because he couldn’t be bothered to lie on the cold wooden floor, or take 3 steps to where the sun reached through the windows. 

Didn’t the gems care that he was missing, she’d spoken on the phone with Pearl about it!

Unless they were already looking for him...

“Take me to little homeworld?” Connie begged. Lion didn’t respond, falling over in his peaceful slumber. Connie sighed. She could always start the search on her own anyway. Who knows, maybe he was just with Greg?

So Connie jogged over the sand, past the Big Donut and down the road to the ‘It’s A Wash’ car wash. It was closer and perhaps they’d told Mr Universe that he was missing now. He’d want to join the search!

Greg’s van was there, the headlights duct taped beyond recognition and the sides scraped. It seemed they had started fixing it and then had taken a break. 

Connie shuddered at the thought of being _in_ it when the crash happened.

Why hadn’t Steven _told_ her?

Even if he felt embarrassed about the hospital they usually shared everything! They’d made it their promise that they’d never have to go through anything on their own!

Connie felt a little hurt, but this was not about her. Steven apparently wasn’t thinking straight if he’d run away, and needed some help. They needed to visit all his friends and see if he was staying there. Even if he didn’t want to go back to the gems right now and he was annoyed at them she still needed to check he was ok. Stars, _she’d_ spent the night at a friend‘s place once when she and her Mum had a rather heated argument. They’d come to an agreement though, and she’d gone back. At least her mum had looked for her. In fact she’d even called the police.

But the fact that last time he’d gone to the _woods_ and probably wasn’t in the right headspace meant that she was itching to find him ASAP.

“Mr Universe?” She found Greg our front with a very light blue Lapis Lazuli, obviously teaching her to use her water powers to wash cars. 

From the looks of it she’d only accidentally cut two of the three she’d cleaned in half. Good for her. It was nice to see gems making an improvement, and despite her worry she flashed the blue gem a smile.

“Connie? Is that you? Hey there, haven’t seen you since... the hospital! You come for Steven? He’s at the house I think.“

They still hadn’t told him. Great.

“No, he’s not. He’s been missing for a few days apparently.”

“Oh... again?”

“Mhm.” 

There was a small silence between them. The Lapis helping him must have sensed the tension as she decided to fly off. Connie felt a little proud that she was good at picking up social cues at least.   
But really this was not the time. She looked at Greg, searching his expression.

He looked.... a little guilty, perhaps?

Maybe sad that he didn’t know?

“Wanna help look for him? I think he’d be staying at a friend’s or something.”

“Yeah.... Just let me finish up here and-“

“No.”

“What?”

“No, Mr Universe this is serious we need to look for him! He’s been missing for what, 4 days? 5?” She wasn’t really sure. Had Pearl specified how long he’d been gone?

“He came back in between!”

Connie stared hard at him. 

She’d _never_ wanted to slap someone more in her life. Especially not an adult that she looked up to like she did to Greg.

“So that makes it better?”

“Ok.... fine... I...“ Greg flopped into his van and patted the ground next to him for Connie to follow. “I feel like it’s my fault he ran away, and want to give him the space he needs. I really don’t want him to be missing, but if that’s what he wants I don’t want to stop him. I ran away, and it was the best thing I ever did! My parents were so controlling and so he deserves freedom! The freedom I couldn’t have!”

“This isn’t about _you_ , this is about Steven! If he wants space he can tell us, but I’m worried about him. So let’s go look for him.“ She types something on her phone, lightning fast. “I just texted Pearl to tell the other gems to help after school.”

“Right... I shouldn’t be making this about myself.” Greg thought back to the crash with the van. Steven had been furious when he realised he had family so close. At least, relatively close, compared to the gems in space.

Sure, Greg didn’t want him mixing with his parents, but from what he’d heard and experienced of the diamonds they were far, far worse. They killed gems! At least they hadn’t tried to do so to Steven.

(Wait.... They didn’t, did they?)

Maybe he should have tried harder to tell his parents that they had a grandson. 

Clearly they‘d never bothered to open his carefully scripted letters, with adequate penmanship and the proper use of capital letters. He’d made an effort (at least in some of them. One or two he might have used some... choice words, but he’d apologised in a later letter) and they’d done nothing in return!

But... he could have at least _told_ Steven. 

And, if they found his precious son and he said he wanted to stay with whoever he was with in beach city Greg could always respect that. Steven’d still have freedom. Great! It was a win-win. 

“Ok, let’s go find my son.”

It had been several hours. The sky had long since gone a deep, inky black and Connie’s phone had run out of battery. Hopefully her parents weren’t trying to call her.

Who was she kidding? Her phone would probably be _literally_ blowing up if it were on. 

Despite herself Connie felt extraordinarily disheartened and worried.

Not only was her boyfriend not staying with any of the people or gems that they asked, but no one had even seen him since before he went with Jasper!

There was _always_ someone by the warp pads in Little Homeworld, in case a new gem arrived. And even if there wasn’t they were in full view, someone would have seen their ‘saviour’, even if he was shorter than they usually expected. There was no way he could have taken a warp pad. 

His car was still in beach city. Steven hadn’t driven anywhere.

The destroyed section of the forest was empty, Lapis and Peridot had done 3 sweeps, returning with worried reports for the wildlife.

Connie could feel her eyes growing heavier by the minute, and the gems (who’d all finally joined) declared it was high time to head back to their base.

“We... we can still look for him tomorrow?” Connie suggested, but it really sounded like more of a question.

“I think we are going to have to face facts. Steven is not in beach city.” Garnet declared with a frown. She looked truly worried.

She’d never even dreamed there would be a possibility that Steven would _leave_ leave. 

Now her future vision was flooded with scenarios where Steven was hurt, or kidnapped, or, or... getting his hair and makeup done??

Ugh! Her future vision had been so off recently with Steven. He seemed happy enough, so that’s what their predictions went off of.

Oh dear, they were dangerously close to splitting if they were referring to themselves as more than one person. 

Garnet clutched at her sides to steady herself slightly. 

“Where could he have gone? He didn’t use the warp pads!”

“I’m worried about the little dude.” Amethyst admitted.

“Well, _yeah_!” Connie felt frustrated. _Why_ hadn’t they all gone to look for him sooner. He’d been gone, what... how many days this time? After tonight it would be 5 nights, including the time with Jasper. So 2 without? How far could he go in 2 days?  
Oh stars....

He had no qualms about jumping onto trains, or hitching lifts. He could even go somewhere via the ocean in a bubble! 

Suddenly it dawned on Connie.  
_Steven could be anywhere_!

He could even have gone to space, he easily could have shape shifted and gotten past the gems at little Homeworld, not that they would have stopped him if he did come through.

_Steven could be anywhere! _  
Connie hadn’t realised she was speaking out loud but the gems and Greg were all looking at her with a horrified yet accepting expression. 

**_Why_** hadn’t they started looking before? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blip! A chapter!  
> Hope you enjoyed!!


	15. Conspiracy boards and braces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper is trying to organise his suspicions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My update schedule is a mess. I apologise.  
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (I often wake up before 6. Please don’t take my comment personally lol.)

Dipper was wide awake. It wasn’t yet 6 in the morning, a time at which most sane people are still fast asleep. There were probably still vicious wolves with a taste for legs roaming the forests. 

Not that he cared about something so mundane as the time. This was far more interesting!

His sighs and annoyed mutterings had ended Mabel’s wonderful dream, making her moan loudly. Dipper, needing desperately to concentrate, threw a pillow at his sister to shut her up. There was no time far _manners_.

“Whatcha doing Bro-Bro?” Mabel rubbed her eyes sleepily, pushing the pillow onto the floor. Then she saw it. There was a large bulletin board above Dipper’s bed already had a bunch of paper, strung together haphazardly as her twin attempted to organise his thoughts. 

A conspiracy board to end all conspiracy boards. And it looked like it was only halfway done.

“Mabel, I’ve started a conspiracy board about Steven.” He explained, rather unnecessarily

“No kidding, how long have you been up?”

“I have no idea!” He smiled, pinning a drawing he’d done of Steven in the middle. He’d scribbled pink all over it, which confused Mabel. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to ask or not. There’d be a lot of crazy explanations, surely. She smiled fondly at her brother’s antics.  
So far, though, Dipper felt that he had very few things on there. He had much to find out. So far he knew that Steven was connected to the puddle. The puddle was connected to the pink glowing (allegedly) and _possibly_ the marks. He was stuck in Gravity Falls. Steven was a runaway, or kicked out, but only _if_ he was actually who he said he was. Dipper took everything that Steven told him with a whole _cup_ of salt since he and Grunkle Ford had caught him literally glowing (Dipper couldn’t really get over that.) He was vegetarian (because he was related to the animals he could be eating???).

And that was it! He had literally nothing else to go on. 

Yet.

just many speculations.

Maybe the star on his shirt was of importance.... like his own symbol. Like ‘Pine Tree’ or ‘Shooting Star’.  
Dipper Shuddered, hoping to never be called’Pine Tree’ ever again.... Though he still did wear the hat after Wendy returned it.

“Dipper!” Mabel scolded, finally deciding to interfere. “Steven seems like a nice guy. He even complimented Ford’s extra fingers, like I did; it made Grunkle Ford really happy! Don’t ruin it with your nerdy conspiracies.“ Dipper sighed. _She_ hadn’t seen him glow.

“Last night, no.... this morning, he was _literally_ pink!”

“He blushes a lot, sure, but he _could_ just be in l-o-v-e~!” She batted her eyelids.

Dipper cringed. She was _not_ falling in love with... whatever Steven was.

Most likely he was human. Well, Dipper was _half_ certain that Steven was human. 

Though _humans_ don’t glow...

“No, Mabel, this is serious. Ask Grunkle Ford. He was literally glowing Pink! And he can’t leave Gravity Falls!”

“Really?! Eeek! I gotta ask him about it, I’d love to turn pink! It’d match my sweater!” She pulled on a bright pink knitted sweater, bedazzled with the word ‘Mabel’ in little plastic jewels. She wore it on special occasions.  
Apparently meeting someone who could glow Pink counted as a special occasion, but not the day they celebrated the fact they had liberated Gravity Falls from weirdmagedon (as well as their birth). Huh. Dipper was about to ask her why she hadn’t worn it but she rushed downstairs to find Steven, and Dipper has no choice but to follow. 

Steven was sitting at the kitchen table munching a bowl of cereal and looking slightly apologetic.  
Mabel couldn’t see either of her Grunkles, but likely they’d gotten the breakfast together for him as Steven didn’t know where anything was.

“Steven!” He jumped, flashing pink in surprise for a second, but relaxed when he saw it was just Mabel. “Ooooh! Dipper _said_ that you can turn pink, I thought he was just doing his nerdy paranoid thing! Are you like a chameleon or something? Can you show me? Do you like my sweater? It’s the same colour as your jacket!”

Hmm... a Chameleon, Dipper hadn’t thought of that...

“Um... I can’t really do it on command.” Steven said aloud. (Don’t think about the training, she wasn’t asking about that, this was fine!) “No, I’m....” Steven almost chocked on the cereal in his mouth, and it turned to tasteless mush in a mere second. The hybrid coughed. “I _am_... I’m human. And.... And I think your sweater is awesome?” He smiled nervously at the bedazzled front.

Were those _real_ gems? 

If they were... did she know what she was actually wearing? 

Was he supposed to show her his gem now?

Were they _shards_?

Occasionally, back in era 1, a gem worrier would integrate ‘Precious’ shards (such as the ones of prized worriers or high up rebellious officials, precious Sapphires or Ambers) into their form to show how tough and strong they were. Thankfully most (or maybe all?) gems who had them agreed to be poofed so the gems could be reformed. But still, it was completely horrific. Was this some sick human version of this?

Surely she didn’t know they were gems, right?

“Can I have a look at the gems? Are they real?”

“Nope! They’re plastic! I wanted some real ones but Grunkle Stan says it’d be to expensive! But also effective if he wanted to smuggle any jewels out of the country~!”

Steven couldn’t hide his loud sigh of relief. 

“What would’ve been wrong with real-“

“On my Stars!!! There is something living on your teeth!” Steven suddenly jumped up, knocking over his bowl of cereal, spilling milk. There was no point in crying, but Steven felt like it. This poor girl had been deprived of basic dental hygiene so much so that there was creatures on her teeth!

“What? You mean my braces? I get to get them off after this Summer, isn’t that amazing?”

“Braces?”

“Like... from a dentist?” Dipper was suddenly in the room. Neither the hybrid with super powers nor his own twin had noticed his arrival, though he’d been there as long as Mabel had. Of course. Dipper would sigh, but being able to go unnoticed could be useful for investing, he supposed.

“A... dentist?”

“Like, the doctor but for your teeth.” Steven’s look of confusion melted away, replaced by one of pride, with a large portion of embarrassment thrown in there. He _knew_ what braces were, he was just being a complete idiot! He was acting like an _alien_! Like the gems that arrived in little homeworld, confused and awkward.

Oh stars, Connie had told him about braces, and she was psyched that she didn’t have to get them. 

Plus, Greg had had them in that photo! He’d just never seen them in _person_ , and he hadn’t been expecting to ever actually see them.

Ok, he’d been sitting awkwardly without saying anything for too long, and they’d begin to look at him weirdly.

“ _Cool_! I’ve been to the doctor before! Have you?” Steven mentally slapped himself. In his haste to break the silence he’d forgotten. Of course he’d been to the doctors! It was easy to forget that not everyone only had one visit on their records.

Wait, did he even _have_ records?

“Um... yeah?” Dipper wasn’t sure what to say.

Was Steven _playing_ dumb to gain their trust, or did he really not know basic healthcare practices?

Dipper wondered how Steven’s family were, if he was who he said that he was and not some forest creature (or Bill). If they’d only _once_ taken him to the doctor’s they must be pretty mean. It wasn’t too hard to believe they could have thrown him out too. 

In fact, knowing about his family could help Dipper find out more about Steven. If he couldn’t give straight answers then perhaps Steven could be another Gravity Falls trick.

Would it be rude to ask him? Would it make him realise that Dipper was onto him?

He decided to risk it.

“Uhm... Steven., I was wondering-“

“Ah, Steven, just the man I wanted to see! Do you want to join me on a brisk visit to the puddle? We can start working on a cure right away.” Ford asked, coming into the kitchen. “I know Stanly wanted you to work, but I’ve explained to him that you’re going to be helping me in the lab.” 

“Oh, of course.” So long as he didn’t accidentally hurt him, like he’d hurt Jasper.

Like he’d destroyed the van.

And the hospital room...

Oh stars, this was gonna be harder than he’d thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Evil laughter) I have things planned....  
> I have actually properly planned the plot line now, rather than just a plot line I thought out as I was writing it. Hopefully that means I can post faster! And I just noticed that I’m back to the confusing POVs! I’ll try fix it later when I have more time, sorry!  
> Well, I hope you enjoyed!


	16. Hypocrite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven adds ‘hypocrite’ to his resume.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this, a second chapter in the same day?  
> I’m in shock! What an unexpected twist....  
> Hope you enjoy reading!

So, Steven went with Ford and Dipper on another stroll through the woods. Well, actually, they took the bus to town and walked from the bus stop as they recognised that it may have taken a few hours otherwise.

Well... It wouldn’t have with Steven’s new speed powers. 

But he decided to keep that to himself.

Ford _had_ previously offered to just take Steven, but Dipper was determined to spend time with him so he could learn more.

Currently he just wanted to know the truth.

Was Steven really just a person who had suffered a Gravity Falls mysterious accident, or was he some kind of fraud?

Dipper peered at Steven. Perhaps they should have leant him some clothes, the shack had plenty and Soos didn’t begrudge a few bucks, unlike his greedy Grunkle. Even though Steven’d had a shower that morning his clothes made him look _quite_ grubby...

And his eyes looked sad and tired...

And if someone dared to get too close he flinched. 

Dipper suddenly felt his suspicions seeping away, replaced by pity. Then he bit his lip. He _needed_ to be vigilant!

He’d trusted Bill, and that had gone horribly.

Anyway, it was hard to tell if he was just startled easily or if he was actually that scared of getting near someone. So no pity was actually needed anyway!

_Was_ the glowing teen staying away to protect him from being hurt, or was it to _hide something_ else from Dipper and Ford?

Dipper could feel himself almost literally burning with 100s of questions, but Steven was rather subdued and he didn’t want to warn him that Dipper was onto him.

When they finally made it to the puddle it looked the same as Steven had left it yesterday; bright pink and sparkling lightly. It hadn’t evaporated in the sun’s heat, unlike all the other puddles that had collected the last time it rained.

Steven supposed that made some kind of sense. His mother’s fountain hadn’t clogged up or run dry since they got rid of the murderous plants.

Hmm... plants had almost killed him... what 3 times now? Did the Watermelon-Stevens count? That fungus stuff definitely did...

“Now don’t touch it, whatever you do. I’m gonna fill up this vial and see if we can study it. There is no way of knowing if it will effect everyone like it did Steven. He may have come off easy.”

Steven looked into the puddle. His tired reflection stared back at him.

He was lying to them... should he just tell them about his tears? They could use it to heal themselves. Ford wouldn’t have to wear glasses!

But they could stop trusting him, and who knew how they might react to the knowledge that there were _aliens_? 

(And that he was one.)

He remembered, with a pang in his heart that almost made Steven double over, when Connie had seemed to first properly realise that he was different. That he wasn’t human. That he was, in actual fact, an alien.

She and Greg had started a whole ‘human beings’ club thingy.

Steven wasn’t invited.

Every high five they shared felt like a slap to Steven’s _alien_ face. Every smile a sneer, all directed towards him.

He wasn’t able to be apart of the Crystal Gems proper group for awhile either, until he started fixing everything so they’d love him. (No, they _had_ loved him, at least back then. _Stop thinking like that. Ugh!_ ) He really wasn’t good enough to _actually_ count, and they wouldn’t tell him all the details about anything. 

He wasn’t human, he wasn’t Gem. He was some kind of sick hybrid abomination... He couldn’t fit in anywhere...

So Steven knew that he _had_ to fit in here.

They could _never_ know he was a gem.

He could pretend to be human! ( ~~He was a fraud, he was a _fraud_!)~~

Easy as pie. 

There. A human phrase! He was already doing it!

“ _Steven_? Ford asked you a question.”

“Oh, sorry, what did you say?”

“Did you turn pink as soon as you made contact or...?”

“Um... kinda? Yes, I did.” Sure, he’d go with that.

“Have you had any other side effects?” 

Steven thought hard.

When he was pink he seemed to have half the patience, he could be more violent or more protective, he made rash choices-

No, running away was a _good_ choice. He was _protecting_ them!

So why was he staying with fragile humans now? He needed to go... He needed to leave! What if be hurt them too?

“You’re pink again.” Dipper noted.

Right. He couldn’t leave. A ‘brilliant’ side effect. He could tell Ford that one at least.

“I-I can’t leave? Does that count?”

“Show us?”

Steven punched the barrier with all this pink strength, a bubble protecting his fist. 

It was useless, he was useless!

Steven punched it harder. It just stretched a little. Ford raised an eyebrow, thinking back to how Bill had struggled to stretch it. Noting it down he went back to eyeing up the puddle and marks, jotting down even more notes.

Eventually Steven stopped punching the barrier. It was useless anyways. “I’m still stuck... sorry.” He looked at the young teenager. “Um... Dipper, are you... ok?” Dipper was standing stock still, hands clenched. His breathing sounded a little off.

“Huh? Oh... yeah... it just reminds me of last Summer.” He smiled. “Nothing to worry about!” Steven recognised the smile.  
Fake, fake, _fake_.

He felt the worry and stress _rolling_ off of Dipper. The hybrid knew that he couldn’t let this kid become a fraud too.

“If it’s bothering you it _is_ something to worry about. Wanna talk about it?”

“You’ve got your own problems-“

“ _ **No**_! No I don’t!“ Steven took a shaky breath, hoping that the world around him hadn’t shaken ~~or shattered~~ with his shout. He was _just_ talking about the pink thing, it was fine, he was fine, Dipper knew, as Steven did, that the pink was the _only_ problem he had. “I-I mean... your Grunkle is helping me with that, but no one is helping _you_ right now.” 

There was a second or so of silence. 

Dipper couldn’t understand or explain it but he felt compelled to tell Steven what he was worried about. There was this strange connection he seemed to have with Dipper’s true emotions, recognising his well hidden worrying.

“I guess... a lot happened last Summer? And... we kinda had to save Gravity Falls...?”

“Better than the whole universe...” Steven muttered bitterly, flushing pink.  
It didn’t leave his cheeks this time.

“What did you say?”

“S-Sorry! Go ahead.” Stars, why did he say that? Saving a whole town was a big deal for a little kid like Dipper. Especially since he was just human! Poor Dipper, what he was describing sounded so stressful! This ‘Bill’ guy sounded like some kind of White Diamond, only he had to get permission to control people. That sounded pretty hard for a kid to deal with.

He _had_ to help him, he hadn’t helped _anyone_ in such a long time. 

He was so selfish.

He had to prove that he, Steven... _Demayo_ , deserved to stay; he could help them! He wouldn’t have to run away from them because they didn’t _know_ about his problems, his mistakes, and could keep it all in so they didn’t get hurt.

Wait, he nearly forgot. He didn’t _have_ problems.  
He was fine!

“And we erased his memories, but Mabel got them back.” Dipper concluded, rubbing hair under his hat. “And really I’m just scared that _you_ might be another-! O-oh... um...” 

So _that_ was what was bothering him!

“No, it’s fine. Dipper, I’d be suspicious too...” Steven thought for a minute. “actually, no, I wasn’t smart enough to be suspicious of the people who trying to kill me, and when I was no one cared anyway-”

“What?” Dipper looked alarmed. Steven ignored it. This wasn’t about little old _Steven_ , this was about Dipper!

“But you being unsure about me makes perfect sense! It’s ok to be scared, and it’s ok to feel stressed. You sound like you’ve been through a lot. And that’s ok, it’s gonna affect you. That is a lot to take on for someone so young. You’re only human.”  
To bad he wasn’t human. Steven had no excuse for his behaviour. _Even_ if he had been fully human the whole reason he was born, his only wish from his mother (who he didn’t really like now, but any-who) would still be that he take care of the gems! That meant that he needed to finish the war she started. Bring peace to those who were disturbed. Fix her mistakes.

Dipper had no such obligations, yet he’d taken it upon himself anyway! Steven could only dream of being so brave and caring.

“I... never thought of that... so you don’t mind I thought you were suspicious?”

Yes, yes, _yes_ he minded! How had Dipper known that Steven wasn’t human, how had he seen all of Steven’s mistakes? He somehow knew that he was a fraud, a liar a shatterer, a diamond, a mons-“Not at all, it just proves that you’re _really_ smart Dipper!” He commended, with a ~~mostly~~ sincere smile. Dipper _was_ a smart kid.

“Thanks Steven.” He wasn’t gonna take down the conspiracy board just yet (he was still slightly suspicious, I mean, _who on earth_ is that kind to some kid he’d just met? Not to mention he was still currently pink from head to toe!), but Dipper was still touched by Steven’s words.

As they headed back Ford matched his pace with Steven’s and whispered in his ear while the teen was getting in the bus back to the shack.

“Thank you. I think he needed that.”

“It’s what I do!” Steven smiled. 

It was a fake, _fake_ , _**fake**_ smile. Just like him. A fake. Why was he pretending to still be little old ‘Steven Universe’ the sweet, innocent little kid who’d rather risk being thrown in lava than be forced to shatter a _fake_ gem? Who’d been terrified at the mere sight of _poofing_? Poofing wasn’t even that bad! At least... Not comparatively...

Steven just wished he could be like that kid again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Here Steven, you can relate to Dipper and he will make you feel better!  
> Steven: Well yes, but actually no.
> 
> Remember to tell me if there is anything I can improve on, I want to make my writing as good as I can get it for the people reading, so I have no problem with constructive criticism! ;D


	17. Makeover Buds!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be mostly fluff.  
> But... well.... yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry if my description of makeup is vague or wrong. I may be a girl but I’m not girly at all and have never worn it, so.... yeah sorry if it’s not a good description!

“ _Steven_! How’re you?” Mabel asked, jumping up from the sofa. 

Poor Steven looked dog-tired after the boys returned from their walk. His clothes were still bedraggled and his hair didn’t look that much better. He was glowing Pink all over, which greatly excited Mabel, but because he looked so down she decided not to comment on it. Despite his ragged appearance he offered her a tired smile. 

“I’m fine. What about you?”

Steven had been thinking. If Dipper had gone through all that stuff last Summer then perhaps Mabel had too. He had to help her as well. It might make up for them giving him a place to stay until he could leave. 

Did he want to leave? 

Steven really wished he could fit in, but he was putting them in so much danger.

And he did hate being trapped. Whenever he thought about it he felt like he was suffocating...

“I’m great! I was wondering... Can I do your hair?” Mabel grinned.

Steven nodded, if slightly reluctantly.

“ _MAKEOVER_!” 

She ran upstairs and returned with fistfuls of makeup. Literally fistfuls of makeup. 

Steven blinked. He didn’t mind makeovers, but that was a _lot_ of makeup.

(Dipper had gone and hidden with his conspiracy board in a cupboard somewhere as soon as he heard Mabel’s excited shriek. He was _not_ getting caught up in all that again.)

Mabel brushed Steven’s hair, making the curls regain their life, Springing back into action. She gave him a green Mystery Shack T-Shirt to wear (he insisted on a size larger than he usually wore, just in case he grew again. Not that he told Mabel that) which he changed into in the bathroom. He was super cautious that she didn’t see him gem at all costs. Who knew how she’d react. 

She also threw his pink varsity jacket in the wash and gave him a little bit of blush and eyeshadow to, quote, ‘Perk him up’. 

Steven couldn’t help but smile as he looked in the mirror. He looked... almost like himself. Maybe Mabel could make him look a little more human? Maybe he could wear a bandage where his gem was, then he wouldn’t have to worry about his top blowing up and exposing his stomach or anything.

Who was he kidding, his gem was ginormous. A bandage would look ridiculous.

_He’d_ look ridiculous.

“Now do me!!” Mabel tugged him away from the mirror and back into the lounge. “Go crazy, I love it!”

“Um... ok...” it had been awhile since he’d done anyone’s makeup. He braided Mabel’s long brown hair and applied lipstick and mascara and whatever else we squealed at when he picked it up. 

It was nice. She was so upbeat and perky. 

Was this what he had been like? When he was younger? Before he became a _shatterer_...

“Wow, Steven, you ok?” Mabel suddenly looked serious, even with the copious amounts of makeup smeared over her face. 

“Wha-yes!”

“It’s just... you haven’t glowed pink the entire time we were doing this... I thought you were enjoying it...” Steven blinked. How did she know he only seemed to glow when he was upset?

Was he really _that_ bad at hiding it? Had Ford said something?

“No, I’m really enjoying it!”

“If you don’t want to we can stop! I’m sorry for being selfish!” She covered her face with her sweater, blushing too. 

“What? No, Mabel, I wasn’t glowing because of that, I can’t control it, remember? It’s because of some strange puddle!”

“Ford said it only seemed to happen when you were distressed.” She mumbled, sweater pulled over more than half her head now.  
Oh. So Ford had said something. How could he? Steven wanted to fit in, he didn’t want them thinking that he was some... weak alien freak or something! 

Oh wow, it was really easy to get angry when he was pink. Steven took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” Steven tried to turn the conversation back to Mabel.

“Nothing.” 

“You can tell me. We’re makeup buddies!” Jam buddies. He missed his jam bud.

“Okay... well... I’m just really scared that I’m being selfish...” The girl began. Steven listened patiently. He could relate to that. Sometimes he felt so bad for making everything about himself. He didn’t want to tell anyone about his nightmares, or him feeling useless or... other problems that he _didn’t_ have anyway! Because other people had things going on. He couldn’t make it about himself. That was what he’d done with Volleyball by accident and he’d scared her so, so much. 

He couldn’t help but remember her cowering in fear, terrified of his screaming.

Plus, he couldn’t interrupt their happily ever after!

Nope, he needed to think about Mabel at the moment. This was Mabel’s problem. Therefore the hybrid had to help. 

“And she said that every time I was being selfish, I was being like her! And she was so evil! She... she...” A tear leaked down Mabel’s face. It seemed what she was about to say was extremely grave. Steven braced for it. She what?

Pretended to be someone else, causing many heartache?

She started a war (against _herself_ ) causing many to die?

She left a good friend stranded on a floating island, ready to kill ~~Steven~~ Mabel as soon as she was safely out of the way?

She practically killed herself by having him, so that his family probably resented him anyway.

_Her_. Not him. This was about Mabel.

Obviously.

“ _She had a T-shirt that said she hated cats_!” At this point she had her face buried in Steven’s top, a miniature fountain seemingly pouring from her eyes. Steven had to agree that if his mother had worn a shirt that said she hated cats he would have hated her 100 times more. She hated the fact she wore a dress, because now they were ruined for him. So a ‘I hate cats’ shirt would be like the icing on the cake.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Steven gave her braid (he’d given it to her, so it was a little lopsided. Steven couldn’t stop his pink hands from shaking at the moment...) a light tug so she’d look up. “That wasn’t you. It was you from an alternate dimension! The opposite of you! And guess what?”

“W-what?” She wiped her eyes.

“I think you’re great. Would a selfish person do my hair and give me a free shirt?”

“I... guess not.” Mabel smiled, bouncing back to her happy smile. “Steven, you’re the best!” He seriously doubted that. “Shall we find a lipstick that goes better with the pink?! What if I knit you a sweater?!” 

Steven looked down. He was still pink, huh? 

It... wasn’t leaving this time?

Still, a sweater would be nice.

“Sure. I’d love one, makeup bud.”

“Yes! You’re even better at sitting still for this stuff than Candy, or Dipper.” Steven snorted. He could only imagine that Dipper would hate makeup, but he didn’t like to jump to conclusions, maybe he did. Dipper though, confirmed that for himself.

“Is it safe to come out now?” Dipper whisper-shouted from around the corner. 

“Dipper! Come join in the makeover~!” Dipper bolted again, causing Steven to laugh, though it felt slight higher pitched than usual. Slightly... phoney (he was such a fraud he could even _laugh_ for real now?)

He was still glowing by the time he lay down to sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are coming! You thought things were already bad? (Laughs evilly)
> 
> Hope that you enjoyed reading! Don’t forget to buy gold!


	18. No experiments... yet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... I’m managing a chapter per day at the moment! Never thought I would, but it’s a welcome surprise!  
> Still can’t name them tho...

It was the next day when, still bright pink, Steven had been sat in a lab hidden underground behind a vending machine. Meanwhile, Ford scribbled down notes in a notebook, occasionally asking questions while he prepared to give Steven a full examination to find the source of his glowing.

“Do you think you glow randomly, or is it triggered?” He asked, already knowing the answer but curious as to what Steven might think. He just shrugged.

“Steven when you had a nightmare, you glowed. Perhaps it _is_ triggered by negative emotions. If you stay positive, there is a chance it will go away on its own. Or, alternatively, you could get progressively worse and this strange substance could end up killing you.”

”W-What?”

”No worries, most things like this tend to wear off after only a few days.”  
Steven bit his lip. Yeah maybe most things, not this one. He couldn’t say anything though.  
He couldn’t just think happy thoughts or _sing this away_ like he usually did for others. 

He was too far gone.

Ford looked him up and down.  
Something wasn’t quite right... “Hmm... how tall _are_ you?” 

“Umm... 168 centimetres?” He couldn’t remember exactly, but that sounded about right. Looking back at his doctors visit now it was all rather a blur. This reminded him so much of that visit though...

What would Ford think of him if he said he was glowing because of ‘gem cortisol’ or an ‘adverse childhood’ or whatever else Dr Maheshwaran had said. Would he hate Steven? Would he want to stop trying to help him?

Though it was gonna be pretty useless trying to help him. Steven could end up hurting Ford by mistake.

The glow seemed brighter. Ford blinked.

“Are you sure? Hang on... here.” He pulled out a tape measure, and stretched it, getting Steven to stand on the bottom and Ford had to step onto a chair to reach his full height. “Y-you’re just over 2 meters...”

That... that was almost as tall as Garnet, if Steven’s memory served him correctly? He knew he’d swelled up when he was with Jasper, but he’d gone back down. Now he was tall again?

“When I met you the day before you were certainly not this tall... your hair is... larger too.”

“L-larger?”

“Like... quite poofy.” He suddenly frowned. “Steven! Your face is quite... pale. Though it’s still pink. Are you feeling ok? There is no vomiting in this lab, these are delicate instruments. Do you need a minute?”

He _wasn’t_ ok, he looked like _her_ , he knew he did. 

**Calm down** , this was fine, he was fine, he just needed to get out so there was no chance he could hurt Ford.

“I-I need some fresh air.”

“Certainly, we can do this tomorrow if you’d like. I’d still like to give you a full examination... perhaps an x-ray? I’m sure I could scrape something together overnight...”

Steven’s eyes widened in fear.  
Humans didn’t usually have so many fractures as him. Plus, his gem would clearly show up on an x-ray. Stars, it would show up if Ford decided to check his heartbeat, or did _any_ kind of examination.  
What if Ford found it? What if he tried to take it out?

Steven felt himself swell up, almost comedically, as he thought of this. This made Ford gasp, but Steven assured him he was fine.

Of course if Ford was his gem he’d try and remove it! He was so _stupid_ , why did he agree to this?

He needed to **leave,** leave. Right now.

Then they’d all be safe. They would not have to care about him.

Ford, on the other hand, couldn’t help but worry as he watched the teenager leave. This pink water seemed far more serious than they had thought... what if it was what made the weirdness in Gravity Falls? 

A sudden, rather plausible but troubling, hypothesis came upon Ford.

Would Steven become one of the creatures or monsters like the ones they encountered on a daily basis? 

Did _all_ of the creatures used to be people? Missing Townsfolk and travellers? Had Steven finally uncovered the source of Gravity Falls weirdness? Why, that was amazing! But... would it come with a cost? He needed to keep a close eye on Steven, in case he showed any monster like behaviours.

He clearly had a lot of thinking to do.

Ford turned back to his notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I hope Ford is in character? I wasn’t sure about how I wrote him, but I guess it’s done now. I’ll try and improve him for future chapters!  
> What will happen? I know. Oh, I know lots of things. _Lots of things_


	19. Pink, pink, pink, PINK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You thought things couldn’t get much worse?   
> It’s funny how dumb you are...
> 
> (Also please read the chapter title in the tune of the brick commercial song from that one Phineas and Ferb episode. You know the one.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I wrote this with the last chapter but wanted to put it off until tomorrow but I cannot, I have literally no self control at all. (I am so sorry!)   
> So... here you go?  
> Hope you enjoy.... >;)

“Steven, you’re so tall! And glowing pink!!” Mabel excitedly squealed, pulling at his arm to get a close look at his pink hands. He’d just come from the vending machine, looking frantic. “Ohh! And your eyes! Are those contacts?” He stopped trying to leave for a second.

“My... eyes?” Steven didn’t bother to ask what contacts were, (perhaps some kind of these braces but for eyes?). It was some human thing he couldn’t know about, anyway.

Instead he rushed to the bathroom, which was thankfully empty.

Never mind how poofy his hair was...

His eyes... they were... like _her_ eyes. Not his. 

Steven started hyperventilating, pulling at his eyelids in case he was somehow looking wrong.

He was not.

Steven fell back, still looking up towards the mirror.

“No... no no no no.... this isn’t happening...” he sounded crazy and he was well aware of it, but he didn’t care. 

Steven _just_ needed to convince himself. If he said it enough maybe it would become true! He could convince others he was ok, so he should be fine to convince himself!

This wasn’t happening... 

Why couldn’t he convince himself that he was fine?

What would make him believe it?

This _wasn’t_ happening, _this wasn’t happening_. “I didn’t shatter Jasper, and I didn’t fight with Dad... I didn’t run away and I’m _not_ trapped!” How could he, he was Steven Universe! How had he forgotten?! He’d saved 1000s of gems, for stars sakes! Who cares if he ~~was a problem~~ created a few problems! He could fix them, like he’d always done! He fixed everyone else, why not himself?! 

And, he certainly **didn’t** look like his mum. He wasn’t her. Not a Diamond like her. Not a fraud like her. 

He knew _who_ he was.

“I’m Steven Universe! I’m fine...“ Though his words sounded too quiet, they needed to be louder he needed to believe it! “I’m **FINE**.” The mirror cracked, but Steven hardly noticed. He could fix it later. He was Steven Universe, he could fix _anything_. Anyone. ~~(But not himself)~~

“Steven? What happened to the mirror? Are... you ok?” Dipper and Mabel were in the doorway, confused and worried. They needed reassurance too. That was fine! He was fine! Steven said so aloud.

“I’m fine.”

He smiled broadly, standing probably more than a meter taller than he usually was. 

“Steven why are you so tall?! Are you sure you’re ok, what’s-“ Dipper tried again, but Steven laughed interrupting him, even though he’d been so polite and rather quite.

“I’m fine, I’m _Steven Universe_ , of course I’m fine!”

“Um... I thought your last name was DeMayo?” Dipper and Mabel looked scared as they stood under the shadow of his tall frame. There was no reason to be fearful, he was Steven Universe! He saved people, he didn’t scare them!

“Nononononono, of course not! That was just a silly little... game!” He always played games. He was perfect little Steven, he’d just _playing_ at being a fraud. He’d somehow tricked himself into thinking that too. He wasn’t _actually_ a fraud, or an _actual_ diamond, much less a shatterer! “I just need to.... clear my head! Go back to my family. I can _help_ again.“

“Your family? I thought that they-“ but Steven was speeding away. 

“Steven? Come back! Grunkle Ford! Grunkle Stan!” Steven ignored them. 

The door was no problem, he was through the parking lot in a flash and then he raced through the forest, super-speed style. No matter that the plants behind him were braking, leaving an obvious trail. He could go back and spit on it all later! He was Steven Universe!

He wasn’t trapped, this wasn’t like Homeworld!

Steven collided unceremoniously against the barrier.

He was trapped. This was exactly like Homeworld.

He couldn’t get out, he was stuck. 

He couldn’t fix this! Steven couldn’t fix anything!

The powerful hybrid didn’t know that he could bleed when he was in his... glowing thingy, but he’d punched the wall so many times without the bubble fists that his knuckles were pink. He hadn’t even noticed.

Huh. His blood was pink. Great.

He couldn't fix this too. 

_Of course he could!_

He just needed to spit on them!

Without getting his spit anywhere it shouldn’t be...

But the walls were closing in and he needed to get _away_ from them before he did anything else!

So he ran. Steven ran back inside the dense bush, occasionally dodging creatures and ~~other~~ monsters, but not towards the mystery shack. He couldn’t go there right now.

He couldn’t fix anything. He couldn’t leave.

Steven had lied to them! They wouldn’t forgive him. 

He was just running and running and running and running and-

And he tripped over a log, face planting into the grass. 

Great.

Just what he needed. 

The frantic hybrid used a rock to hoist himself up into a sitting position, leaning against it exhaustedly.

He’d felt so energised, so convinced that he was finally _Steven Universe_ again mere seconds ago. 

Blearily he noticed that the world was back to normal speed. 

Steven didn’t care.

After an undecided amount of time tears started to seep from his eyes. His diamond eyes. 

_Steven_ wasn’t a diamond! He wasn’t a fraud! He wasn’t a m-

Suddenly, before he could finish that thought, the rock he was leaning on was _glowing_. Rocks didn’t just... glow, right?

Steven stumbled backwards, watching the events unfold with horror in his eyes.

The pink shining started where his tears fell, but then it grew, sparkling and shining. 

Refreshing old life. Reviving it.

Steven’s pink blood ran cold.

It wasn’t a rock at all.

It was a statue.


	20. Connie’s not Lion around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ;P  
> Please enjoy this mandatory dose of Connie caring about Steven more than anyone else seems to. Hmm.

Connie Maheswaran was _supposed_ to be having a fun day off from studying and searching. Instead she was practically having a constant anxiety attack.  
You can’t have fun when your friend, perhaps even _boy_ friend, was missing. (... boyfriend? Well he had _proposed_ , but she was certain he wouldn’t have done it without Garnet’s influence. It was so sweet though... perhaps in a few years she could say yes? The very thought made her heart flutter happily and a blush appear on her cheeks. Wait. Ugh, she was getting off track...)

Steven still wasn’t found. Even the _gems_ were super worried now.

They’d told her to get a days rest and then come back (she couldn’t use the warp pads alone anyway) but it was so hard. Instead of reading, listening to music, hanging out with friends or whatever else she normally would do Connie found herself lying on her bed, peering at her phone every few minutes. She hoped (in vain) that there would be an excited message from Pearl or Amethyst telling her that they ‘found him, he was just with Lars’ or ‘he was in his room in the temple’ or some other _simple_ and non-worrying explanation. 

But no, all she got was a run down battery.

So when it _finally_ went off, with Steven’s voice no less, she jumped about a meter in the air, reaching wildly for her phone.

“Steven!” She cried without thinking. Though it clearly wasn’t a phone call from him, (he didn’t have his phone and his ringtone was not his voice) she couldn’t help but feel her hopes rise.

Instead of a notification telling of a text message or ‘missed call’ from the boy in question she had an odd little video playing on repeat.

A tall, pink, wide eyed and distressed looking Steven bent his knees, bouncing up and down in the screen.

“ _Steven’s here to help. Steven’s here to help_!” It repeated, but not for long. It quickly changed to 

“ _Steven help_ ” and then, much more alarmingly, “ _Help Steven, help Steven_...”

“W-what?!” Was this some kind of new power? Was this a cry for help?

“ _Help Steven_!”

Well, yes, it appeared it was indeed a cry for help. 

But how could she respond? No one knew where he was, this was the only connection she had with him and-

Connection.

Oh, they were all complete was an idiots! Lion! Lion had a connection with Steven! _He_ could help her find him!

She shot a text to Pearl, Steven’s video message still repeating offscreen.

‘Had an idea on how to find Steven. Will keep in contact.’

The three typing dots appeared, but Connie decided to ignore them until she’d tested her theory, already breaking her promise of contact. Oh well.  
The brave knight snuck downstairs and stood outside the front door. Lion wasn’t technically allowed inside.

Then she whistled, praying that the pink beast would appear quickly. 

Steven needed her, and she wasn’t going to let him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You’ll have to wait to see what’s happening with Steven until the next chapter (hopefully my tonight if not then tomorrow)...  
> Sorry it was kinda short! Promise the next is longer!  
> Hope you enjoyed.


	21. UnBILLievable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Steveio where things are looking... triangle shaped?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The support and feedback I got from the last for chapters was absolutely amazing, and really blew me away! So thank you SOO much for reading!  
> I hope that you enjoy what is to come...

The creature that replaced the statue, much to Steven’s utter horror, was a one eyed floating _triangle_ with a snazzy hat and tie. 

_Bill Cipher._

The stories Steven had been told by Dipper made him immediately back away, a Diamond shield at his arm, protecting him as best he could. He couldn’t seem to summon his normal one.

Only... wasn’t Bill supposed to be only yellow? This was yellow with several smudges of pink on his body, though that _could_ have been because of Steven’s healing tears.

Healing tears. He was an idiot! He couldn’t control his powers at the moment, of course he was going to make mistakes, he was going to bring some other monster to life ( ~~other than himself...~~ )

Why did _this_ have to be what he cried on though?

“ **Ohh, ohh! Gravity Falls. Back again, huh? The name’s Bill Cipher.** “ He seemed shocked to be back, and slightly disoriented. He seemed even more surprised to see Steven, and was alarmed that he actually didn’t know who he was right away.   
Steven, if course, had recognised Bill as soon as his yellow (and pink) form appeared.

And then he was glowing several _different_ colours as he peered questioningly into Steven’s (Diamond) eyes. To his absolute horror Bill displayed many of Steven’s own memories and experiences; moving in with the gems, being kidnapped to space, his pink twin, tunnelling to the cluster, Spinel, his diamond powers... there were many, _many_ others in between, but he went too fast for Seven to register them, even though this went on for about a minute.

How in the name of Waffle Irons did he know all that?

Dipper said that Bill was some kind of dream demon, he could get in people’s heads... like White? Would he _take control_ of Steven?

“ **Wow** , **It seems I have a Diamond on my hands, unless my eye deceives me...** ” he laughed, as if this were some brilliant joke.

Steven flinched. Being called a Diamond, even though he constantly thought that he was, felt strangely _worse_ than being turned into a puppet.

“ **Looks like you revived me pal...** ” Steven took another step back. He did _not_ want to be mistaken for Bill Cipher’s friend. “ **Well, I owe you one! Here, have a flaming headed lion to show my appreciation**.” He clicked his fingers, and immediately a lion with fire for a mane appeared. It looked far more vicious than Lion, and roared ferociously, ready to charge. Steven shook his head, and almost disappointedly the lion disappeared.

Would Bill poof if he threw the shield at him?

He wasn’t a gem though, was he?

“ **No? Ok then, suit yourself! No one accepts my gifts!** ” The strange creature’s voice radiated with pure power. “ **So how’d you do** **that** **kid?“** he gestured to his _alive_ self. **“I must say I’m impressed. Who knows where you got my conscious back from, Pinkie.** “

Steven suddenly yelled, throwing the pink shield at Bill. 

“ **Calm down now, wouldn’t want to _hurt anyone_**.” The hybrid’s face fell. He seemed unable to speak. 

Suddenly there was a loud rustling behind him, followed by a chorus of shouts.

No no no no! Why did he leave such an obvious trail?! Had he really been here that long that they had been able to already get here?

“Steven?”   
“Steven where are yo-“ Mabel, Dipper and their Grunkles appeared in the little clearing, trudging worriedly through the forest before before stopping dead.

They took in the scene.

Bill Cipher ( _Bill Cipher!!!_ ) had somehow returned and he had smudges of pink on him now. (Had the puddle’s liquid somehow gotten to him?) Steven was cowering and shaking with what could be either fear or rage, behind a shield shaped like a Diamond that they didn’t recognise. There would be time to investigate that later.

“Stay _away_ from him Bill Cipher!” Ford demanded angrily, rushing forward.

“Steven! He’s dangerous, be careful!” Despite her fear Mabel ran up to help Steven too, and the rest her family weren’t far behind, even though Dipper looked ready to faint.  
Actually, they all did.

“ **Hahahahaha! You think that _I’m_ dangerous?**” Bill let out a hearty laugh, which confused the Steven even in his panicked state, as he didn’t appear to have a mouth. 

“Weirdmagedon ring a bell you moron?” Stan reminded. “We kicked your butt, I’d gladly have a round two!”

“ **Oh, I can assure you,** ** _I’m_** **the least of your worries! No need to waste time with little old** _ **me when there are bigger threats...**_ ” Steven’s blood once again ran cold.

“N-no!” He knew what Bill was going to say, he had to stop them from listening.... but he was paralysed to the spot and by this time all of the Pines family members were protected by his shield. Steven couldn’t move, or they’d be in even more danger than they already were with him! (He was just glad they hadn’t questioned the shield. Yet.)

“ **Wanna know _how_ I’m back?**”

“We don’t care! We got rid of you once, we’ll do it again Bill!” Ford repeated, seemingly especially angry towards him.

“ **Oh, but you will care. Does Pink _Diamond_ here wanna explain**?” He pointed at Steven whose Glow seemed especially fierce.

“Steven? _You_ bought him back?” Mabel looked horrified, betrayed even. “We were makeup buds...” She stepped back from the safety of his shield. 

They all stepped back.

It was probably for the best. He could hurt them.

But he so wanted to fit in with them, he could still keep up the pretence he was human!

And he had to explain what had happened, or the Pines would never trust him again!

“W-wait! It was an accident!” Steven tried to explain.

“ **But you can’t deny it was you, can you Rosie?** “ Another angry yell. Bill Cipher easily dodged the shield, event though it was spiked.

Bill chucked internally. This kid was too easy!

“I don’t trust you Cipher! I’ll bet you tricked him!” Ford demanded, though he stayed a safe distance from Steven.

“ **Oh, someone’s been tricked alright. Not me though. Let’s have a look into ‘Steven‘ here, shall we?** ” 

“No no _no_!” Steven threw the diamond, but Bill could float right around it just like the last one.

“ **Hmm... if I’m correct... it seems he’s been lying to all of you, hasn’t he? Pretending to human...** ”

“ _Stop_!!”

“ **And not an _ALIEN_...**”

“PLEASE!” Steven covered his ears.

“ **Did he by any chance tell you that he is one of four ruthless dictators, which destroyed planets?!** ”

“They’re not like that anymore!”

“ **And that, just several days ago, he killed one of his friends... sorry, his loyal SERVANT?** ”

Everyone flinched, unsure whether or not to back further away from Steven, or to call out Bill for being a liar.

But, only one look at Steven’s face told them it was all true.

Mabel saw how scared and distressed Steven appeared, the hopeless and desperate look in his eyes alone made her want to go and hug him. Plus, usually didn’t care if someone had committed a crime... but _murder_? She had to admit she was a tiny bit frightened. 

Dipper wasn’t sure if it was right to feel triumphant (he was right, once again!) because Bill was _right there_ and Steven was an alien and had apparently _killed someone_!

Stan just felt angry he’d been tricked into bringing Steven into his home. Why had he tried to do something ‘good’ again?

Ford was angry at Bill. He’d been tricked by him before, and understood how it felt. Only... Steven was an alien? He had so many questions, but also so many fears.

And Steven? Steven was in utter turmoil. 

They knew. They knew who he was. They knew he was bad. They knew he was an alien. He couldn’t escape, the barrier stopped him. He’d bought back an evil dream demon who, in reality, was a _mild_ threat compared to him. 

“ **Ahh Steven. The living proof that saving the universe is completely useless! No one cares about you after you’re done, and they all move on, don’t they? Why don’t you help me _destroy_ it instead? ****We both know you’re the most powerful diamond! No one would ever think you were your mother _or_ leave you ever again. ****With your and my powers combined we could be _unstoppable!_ ” **If it was possible for the triangle with no mouth to smile, that was what he was doing now. He extended his hand out towards Steven and it was suddenly engulfed in blue flames, flickering pink every few seconds too. The Pines watched in horror.

Steven felt tears in his eyes as he watched his carefully laid ‘I'm human’ facade fall apart in front of his eyes.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel like giving up and shaking his hand then and there. 

But Steven wouldn’t.

He may be a fraud and he may not be human, but one thing was true.

“ **No**! I will never hurt anyone! I refuse to help you!” But he sounded weak. Almost like he was begging Bill silently to just go away.

Bill Cipher just smiled (probably? Again, no mouth)

“ **Funny, you seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it before I came back~** ” Steven fell to his knees, finally defeated.

“ _Stop it_ Bill!” Ford growled angrily “Steven may have kept secrets from us, but I’m sure he’s not a bad guy really!” He stepped back towards Steven with his arms in a protective gesture.

“ **Really? IQ, Shooting Star? You’d all believe him, a liar, over me? Come on! Pine Tree! We go way back. You don’t know Diamond here at all..** **.** **He’s a _monster_.**” Bill snickered, knowing all too well what was happening to Steven as they spoke.

The Pines had made him look stupid. They had ruined his excellent world takeover. His perfectly planned chaos. Bill could easily manipulate Steven. He would make them pay, without him having to personally do any work at all! Just a mother little nudge and Steven would be over the edge.

“ **You can’t be telling me you trust _that thing_ , can you?**”

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed, pulling an undecided Dipper and Stan with her.

“No...” Steven whispered, and they all spun around to face him.

He had literally crumpled to the ground, his tall pink frame bent and shaking. “He’s right. I’m a fraud.”

“No, Steven! Trust me, you can’t believe him! We’ve all made mistakes, Bill’s ju-“

“NO! He’s right! I’m a _fraud_!” The trees around them shook a little. 

He wasn’t human, he was a liar. He wasn’t a gem either. He knew what he was. What he really was. What he _always_ had been. Right from day one.

“I’m a _monster_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sighs contentedly* Ahhh, cliffhangers...
> 
> Also please let me know if Bill was out of character. I was literally SO excited to try and write him (you would not believe it), so let me know if there is anything I can improve on!


	22. Steven has a MONSTER headache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cavalry arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been laughing at and loving all the nice and funny comments that I’ve been receiving. Thanks so much for the support!! Hope you enjoy reading! Sorry if this one is a little short?I’ve been enjoying the use of cliffhangers.... >;)

“W-What do we do now?”

“Ohmygoshohmygosh-“

“Ford! You know the most about this stuff! What happened to the kid?!” At Grunkle Stan’s question they all turned to Ford for answers. Surely he could have a good idea of what was happening. 

Or any idea as to what was happening.

Ford, however, was at a complete loss. 

Steven, the timid, battered teenage runaway who had taken up residency on their couch was not only an alien murderer (perhaps some kind of fugitive? Was that why he had run away?) but now he was a giant pink... dragon? 

There were crystal spikes running all down his pink scaled back, which was stooped as he lumbered along determinedly, crushing large portions of the forest with every step. Steven’s neck was much, much longer and his fingers and toes were now capped with dark purple claws. Pointed spiked teeth had shot from his mouth. He even had a tail. His eyes were black with almost glowing pupils. 

And though he was acting angrily they seemed to have a pitiful look in them as if, somewhere deep inside, this was not what he wanted at all.

Every step he took shook the ground like a magnitude 5 earthquake, making it nearly impossible to stand up straight. It made sense, he had to be about 5 stories high.

Steven bashed against the force field, stretching it to what seemed like it’s breaking point, but it remained strong, refusing to let go.

Steven roared.

It was louder than expected, shaking the trees and causing all sorts of crashing noises.

Thankfully they were a good distance from the town, but who knew how long they could contain Steven so far away.

“This doesn’t make sense?! He’s an alien?” Dipper tried to get a glimpse at the cliff with the spaceship hole, but with all the trees and general chaos it was too hard. Instead he looked back to his Grunkle Ford again, hoping for some sign of... well... hope. 

There was none.

“ **Well, I might as well sit back and watch Steven take revenge for me! Hahahaha, you know this has been long coming!** ”

“You’re the real monster Bill! You did this to Steven and we’re gonna change him back!” Mabel shouted angrily.

“ **Did I? He _is_ an alien. And he killed somebody! Even I just relentlessly tortured (most) of my victims! Well, have fun! I’ll be back...**” Bill gave a little wave a disappeared. 

Mabel wasn’t sure who to believe. 

Bill was obviously a liar, but Steven was literally a monster.

No, it didn’t matter if he looked like some kind of kaiju! He wasn’t a monster in the inside. Mabel just knew it. They could help him! Perhaps there was some nerdy science thing Dipper and Ford could do. She turned back to her Grunkle who was standing stock still, muttering in confusion.

“I-I knew aliens existed but...” It was a little disheartening that he wasn’t sure what to do (after all he had been so cheerful when a flesh eating octopus attacked) but she was sure there had to be something they could do.

Steven had made her feel better. She could help him. Maybe they could make him a home somewhere in the forest. He could visit them everyday. If he could breathe fire then she would _have_ to teach him to roast marshmallows for them!

Suddenly there was a pink flash of light in front of them, causing them all to shriek. Was Bill back?

No, thank goodness, it was just a majestic looking lion.   
Wait...

A lion?!

Like Steven the Lion ( _LION_!) was pink.

Unlike Steven there was a young woman on this pink beast, tall with dark hair and a determined look on her face.

“Whoa, this place is a mess...” The girl muttered distractedly, slipping off the lion as she peered at all of the fallen trees around them. “But that doesn’t matter, have any of you seen a teenager named Steven? He’s about _this_ tall with curly hair, brown eyes, bright pink jacket...” 

“Well...”

Stan muttered something. It was a distinct possibility that it was a swear word.

“Please, it’s important! He- whoa...” Connie looked at the creature banging desperately on the barrier, mouth wide open. “Looks like I arrived just in time.” She whipped out her phone and texted Pearl.

‘Haven’t found Steven. Corrupted gem @’ She looked up. “Where am I sorry?”

“Gravity Falls.” Stan explained curtly.

“But that _is_ Ste _-_ “

“Thanks.” She looked back at her phone. 

‘Gravity Falls. It’s very big, we may need to pause looking 4 Steven. Plz bring everyone’. She didn’t have to wait for Pearl’s reply as it immediately came up with ‘We are on our way.’

“Ok, don’t panic, we’ll sort this out! I deal with gem stuff almost everyday. Or.. I used to.” She grinned sympathetically. “I know it must be scary, but this is a corrupted gem. It’s an alien from Beach City, it’s... unwell. I’d suggest evacuating your city, or at least warning everyone until we can get it out of your way, ok?” 

“So... Steven turns into this a lot? Whenever he is unwell? Fascinating... may I ask-“

“What?!” The girl looked frantic suddenly, and she grasped at the mane of the Lion to steady herself. “Steven?” 

“Yeah, he was staying with us. If this happens almost everyday then it’s nothing to worry about, right? We were making a big deal outta nothing!” Stan moaned.

Dipper and Ford seemed to be in nerd overload, and Mabel could practically see them considering all the possibilities that came with aliens living on the planet with them. 

She was worried though. “He seemed really upset before he... turned into that. Are you sure he is ok? Can he teach me?”

“No! This shouldn’t happen to Steven! He’s half human, we thought he couldn’t corrupt!”

“ _Half_ human?!”

“He’s the one and only gem/human hybrid. He’s been missing for almost a week, and I... we were all worried about him! I’m not sure what could have made him corrupt, the others are all form 1000s of years ago! We can change him back though.... right?” It seemed pointless asking them, they didn’t even know he was half gem until literally just then, but she wanted some reassurance.

“Could it have something to do with this pink liquid he showed us? It was causing him to glow.” Ford explained. He had a sample back at the shack, but this seemed like an inappropriate time to get it.

“His... healing spit?”

“That was _all_ just his spit?!” Dipper wasn’t sure whether to be disgusted or impressed.

“Healing spit?!?!? Does that mean that he could lick an ice cream and it could grow back?” Mabel sounded so excited that Connie felt mean for having to burst her bubble.

“No, just gems, human injuries and plants. He healed my eyes, I used to be blind as a bat!”

”Bats aren’t actually-” Ford began “... oh, not the time.” 

”And this lion. His Mom bought it back to life. We think.”

“Oh no! That’s how he healed Bill!” Dipper exclaimed. 

“What’s... never mind. For now we need to focus on helping Steven... calm down, then maybe he will turn back to normal. We can’t leave him like that. Maybe the gems will know what to do....” Connie frowned determinedly. She would do whatever she could to help Steven.

“Calm him down? Good luck with that.” Stan scoffed.

“Why?”

“Well, for starters there’s a bunch of people attacking him.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t find anything on Kaiju Steven’s height so I made it kinda vague and took a guesstimate. Obsidian was apparently ‘50 feet tall’ (could have been an exaggeration but oh well) and he was about as tall as the obsidian statue. Apparently that in stories is about 4.6. So... yeah?  
> Hope that you enjoyed!


	23. It’s all fun and games until someone looses an eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! There is a very brief and not at all descriptive mention of Blood (literally just the name, but just in case anyone is squeamish) in this chapter, and possibly in the next.
> 
> Also sorry if this is short. Currently I’m opting for shorter chapters with faster updates, but I don’t mind if people would prefer they were longer and take longer to come out, if that’s the case add it to any comment you might want to make!

When Bismuth, Peridot, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst and Lapis first arrived in Gravity Falls they hadn’t expected the corrupted gem Connie has found to be quite so... big. 

“Ohhh! That’s why she said to bring everyone!” Amethyst laughed awkwardly. “Sorry.”

She’d been complaining since they’d started looking to find Gravity Falls, and when she’d been dragged along to the closest warp pad. It was only a couple of kilometres away but Amethyst in particular had resented the walk.

That was until they saw it.   
  
A tall, spiked, pink Kaiju with a roar louder than anything they’d ever heard. Because of its massive size it’s gem was apparently hidden, though they were certain this kind of gem hadn’t been seen in a corrupted form before. It was so weird seeing something so new, and Garnet said as such:

“I’ve... never seen a corrupted gem so large.” She shifted her visor.

Unfortunately, instead of seeing a clear future it was all completely garbled and messy. She had to be missing something. There was some vital piece of information she needed to know for the possible outcomes to be clear, but she wasn’t sure _what_.

The corrupted gem stopped pounding at the barrier that appeared to only affect it (perhaps some side effect of corruption?) and roared loudly at the little group as soon as it saw them.

“Let’s hurry up and clobber that thing!” Peridot declared, shaking her fist angrily. She’d bought her metal floating lid and was ready to show off her skills.

“Let’s do it. We may need more help though.” Garnet nodded at Pearl and Amethyst and they danced, their three forms merging into one giant fusion. 

“Go.” Alexandrite charged, followed by the others. Lapis found a stream and used the little water she had to try and contain the corruption with chains. It was stuck in this town apparently, but they couldn’t let it get close to any humans before they poofed it. Period and Bismuth staged arial attacks, Bismuth’s armour allowing them both to float, and she also used her lid to hit at the corruption, yelling “TAKE THAT YOU CLOD! FEEL THE WRATH OF MY METAL POWERS!” (This only seemed to anger the beast, but she looked so pleased with herself that Bismuth decided to allow her at least a small victory).

Despite all of the help the fight was not going well. 

The monster had thick, protective scales and horns which were hard to penetrate. It was stubborn and refused to poof no matter what they did, even after scrapes formed in its massive scales.

So Alexandrite decided it was time to use a stronger weapon. 

“Stand back.” She ordered, it sounded like Garnet, but with fusion it was often difficult to tell. Then she finally produced her rarely seen weapon.

It was rather similar to Sugilite’s weapon in that it was a flail, only it’s end was spiked with the addition of Pearl’s pointy stick... thingy. (‘ _Spear_! _It was a spear!’_ ).   
It definitely wasn’t the most... creative weapon for a fusion, but they so rarely used it that it didn’t actually matter. The combination of their personalities tended to be...less artistic. Perhaps it was because so many gems at once with conflicting personalities could be less stable?

Anyway, Alexandrite steadied herself, pulled back the weapon in one of her many hands and jumped up, swinging it with all her strength towards the corruption’s face. 

It didn’t poof, roar or even try to produce any kind of counter attack.

(In hindsight that would have been _far_ preferable....)

Instead it stumbled back, what could only be described as a gasp escaping from it’s sabre toothed mouth. The water chains on it’s back legs went slack and it just stood there, clutching its eyes with its clawed hands, a heartbroken expression on its pink face.

“ _STOOOOOP_!” A familiar voice yelled, breaking the tense silence. Connie sitting majestically atop of Lion with 4 humans following close behind suddenly appeared on the ground. 

Since the corrupted gem was apparently frozen Alexandrite lowered herself to the floor of the clearing, unfusing on impact.

“ _Connie_ ,” Pearl gave her an annoyed look. “we’re trying to-“

“Pearl! These guys told me that he” she pointed to the still frozen pink creature next to them “is Steven!”

“WHAAAAA??” 

“S-Steven?” 

Collectively they looked ready to faint, scream and cry all at the same time.

“You can’t be serious-“ Pearl began.

”Steven is organic, he can’t-“ Peridot began to interrupt. Connie didn’t let either of them finish.

“Why would we lie to you about THIS?!”

“What _are_ you?” Dipper whispered. The gems ignored him. 

“What happened to him! Just a second ago he was missing and now he’s turned into this.... _thing.”_

“Umm... you guys, Steven is-“ began Mabel. Lapis gasped from her position a few meters in the air.

No one took much notice. 

“We can change him back, can’t we?” Connie asked hopefully.

“YOU GUYS!”

“What?!” They all turned to Mabel, who was pointing upwards. 

The corrupted- no.... _Steven_ was thrashing about wildly all of a sudden, tears of pain dripping from his left eye.

The other was closed and dripping with blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY, I HAD TO! THEY COMPLETELY WASTED THE FORESHADOWING THAT WAS PUT IN THAT EPISODE WITH ONION, OK? (Sorry, I feel very strongly about this, also I know nothing about whether someone would bleed if they got hit in the eye, even with something sharp, so.... sorry if it’s inaccurate) 
> 
> Hope that you enjoyed! :D


	24. Eye, eye, eye...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the distinct lack of a chapter yesterday! I was quite busy. Hope you enjoy this one!

“Steven!” Pearl cried. The tall, thin gem seemed to crumple into herself at the sight of Steven’s face.

“I... we _did_ that...” Garnet sounded shell shocked and her form was wobbling. 

Amethyst was actually speechless.

“I can’t hold him forever” Lapis called regretfully as Steven began to painfully struggle against the chains. He’d started pounding on the barrier again. He didn’t seem to want to get through it now though, apparently he just wanted to get... away. 

Away from them.

“It’s really Steven...” Pearl was shaking. “Other gems can’t bleed... Inside that... monster” Steven roared, stomping in his rage “Steven must be in there so... angry. So confused! How did he even corrupt?”

“I knew something was going on before he ran away... I shoulda done something! Why didn’t I do something?! He must have been corrupting for a long time! I should’ve _known_!“ Amethyst cried.

“We need to _help_ him!” Connie cried.

“We... failed him.” At that Garnet unfused into a sobbing mess that was Sapphire and Ruby. 

At this point Stan, Ford, Dipper and Mabel didn’t even blink. 

Steven roared again.

“If we don’t help him soon he could stay corrupted forever!” Sapphire cried. Her future vision was still fuzzy. She didn’t see him a future where he was uncorrupted at _all_ , but didn’t like to say so. Ruby knew though, and started sobbing too.

Everyone looked downtrodden at the couple’s reaction.

“Dudes, you should get outta here before something happens to you!” Amethyst cried out to the Pines. 

“So what?! Steven may look like a monster but he isn’t one! He’s not gonna hurt _us_!” Mabel declard.

“That’s right! He helped me, I want to help him!” Dipper stood his ground too. 

“I don’t understand what’s happening, but I am willing to help in any way I can.”

“I was a hero last year. Might as well be one again!” And Stan was honestly not (only) thinking of helping save Steven (and, by extension, the town) so that he had a good reputation next time a crime was committed and he was a suspect, he really did want to help. 

“Yeah!” Connie agreed “Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and HELP him! You know, _Steven_ would care how you feel. Because he’s Steven! Right now _we_ need to help _him_!”

“You can’t be sure he won’t hurt you. He’s corrupted!” Bismuth countered. Steven roared louder, and the ground shook terribly. “But maybe we can go get the diamond essences. We can _un_ corrupt him!”

Mabel pulled out her trusty Grappling Hook and nodded to her brother.

Connie frowned at Bismuth’s suggestion, thinking carefully and peering at the relatively small gem in the giant creature’s stomach as he thrashed about.

It looked sparkly and pink, she’d think it was brand new if she didn’t know that it was 1000s of years old.

There wasn’t a single little mark that could indicate corruption on it.

Perhaps it _wasn’t_ corruption?

Once Steven had told her that he’d almost grown so old that he died, all because he’d been thinking he should act like he was mature. 

And she’d experienced firsthand that time on his birthday that he could change form quite... convincingly. He had started thinking that he was young, (though he was trying to seem older,) so eventually he’d _become_ a baby. Because he felt like one. 

What if (oh it made her heart ache sadly just to think of it) he felt that he was a monster, so he had actually _become_ one? 

“You guys! What if it’s not corruption?” She burst out, not caring if she interrupted anyone.

They weren’t listening anyway. 

“Good idea Bismuth!” Pearl clapped her hands, ready to organise them. “Lapis, Bismuth, you go get tears form Roses fountain, the rest of us can go to Homeworld and get them from Blue, White and Yellow-“

“I haven’t talked to her since I called her a clod!”

”Peridot, there are _children_!” Pearl hissed. It was bad enough that Steven had had to hear her bitty mouth.

“They’ve changed now. You’ll be fine.” Sapphire confirmed.

“Don’t you have some already?”

“Steven... he spilled them. We think.” Pearl shrugged. They still had no idea what he’d been doing in the bathroom and what he’d been thinking, leaving it in that state.

“You guys!”

“Connie, you can stay here with Steven.” Amethyst suggested. “Maybe I should too... I owe it to him.”

“Actually shouldn’t Lapis stay? We can’t hold him.”

“This force field is. Connie can evacuate the locals!”

“STOP IT! I don’t think that this _is_ corruption!” Connie repeated.

“What do you mean?” Peridot peered at Steven, who was tugging desperately at the chains, roaring pitifully every few seconds. “What else could this be?!”

“Perhaps he just _feels_ like a monster-“

“Connie, Steven may have run away but mostly he seems fine otherwise. He would have told us if he felt bad. We would have noticed” Garnet said confidently as she stood tall, fused back together again.

“Garnet.” The teenager said seriously “Can’t you trust me on this?” Were they too proud to admit they hadn’t noticed? Would have have to have _watched_ him turn into a monster to believe it?

“Sorry Connie...” Amethyst muttered “but I don’t wanna chance it.”

“I c-can’t hold him much longer!” Lapis was literally shaking from the effort at this point, and he’d broken the chains so many times that she was finding it hard to get water and make new ones.

“I’m with Pearl.... And Garnet.” Bismuth agreed.

“Affirmative.” Though Peridot couldn’t help but think back to his nightmares. 

Could Steven just be _feeling_ bad? Perhaps she should stay?

“Well _I’m_ staying, I’m gonna help Steven!” Connie shouted back angrily, remounting Lion.

“Fine, make sure the Townsfolk are safe.” The gems commanded.

And then they LEFT. They left Steven! Connie was _furious_. She’d never been so angry in her life!

Well, no matter what _they_ did Connie wasn’t going down without a fight. She couldn’t leave her jam bud, and she wasn’t going to. Connie could get through to him. 

First, the Pines ought get to safety. Steven was back to banging on the barrier, knocking his already injured head against it, stretching it to its limits. She hoped that he wouldn’t hurt himself badly before she could help turn him back. 

And she _would_.

Wait....

Connie looked around the clearing, which was filled with torn up pieces of earth and fallen trees.

It was otherwise rather empty.   
Worryingly so.

She looked up.

That family who were with Steven! They were all dangling from a grappling hook connected to one of Steven’s spikes.

Several stories up in the air.

Connie gasped as the boy lost his grip and then started to fall....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw: if the gems reactions seem strange it’s because they didn’t see him become a monster, or get the insight into how he was feeling yet like they did in the actual episode. They think he is corrupted, not just thinking that he is a monster, if that makes sense? Hope this isn’t too much of an au, if you know what I mean. Let me know, I’m happy to receive criticism!  
> Hope you enjoyed it anyway! I wasn’t too sure about this chapter but I hope it’s ok.


	25. FALLING for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title makes no sense but I could think of no other pun. If someone comes up with a better one I will happily exchange it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay 2 chapters in one day (to make up for there being no chapter yesterday!). I hope that you enjoy, I actually kind of like how this one turned out, which is unusual for me.

“AHHHHHHH!” Dipper screamed, flailing his arms desperately as he tried to catch the hand of his twin sister.

“Dipper!” She yelled, hair flapping about in the gentle breeze, eyes wide as she stretched her hand out as far as she could reach. 

It wasn’t far enough.

“LION QUICK!” Connie yelled, and the pink beast jumped into action, leaping through a portal and allowing Connie to catch him in a bridal hold, having literally scooped him out of mid air. 

“AGHHHHH!” Despite being relatively safe now Dipper continued to scream in a high pitch voice. “Um... I mean **AHHHH**!” He deepened his voice a bit. Then he seemed to realise that he was safe and turned beetroot red. “Th-thanks!” They really shouldn’t have gone into this without a plan, what was he thinking?!

“Hold on tight!” Connie plonked him on the back of Lion as she picked up Stan. Ford and Mabel were closest to the grappling hook and therefore Steven, so they could be relatively safe for now. 

Unless Steven started thrashing about again.

“Lion, go to Steven’s head!” She commanded, and Lion dropped them off before he disappeared again, hopefully to get the other two.

Connie, Dipper and Stan clung to one of the biggest horns on his forehead as Steven shook himself about desperately. Thankfully it was easy to dig their feet into some of his large scales in order to stay on. She silently begged that doing so didn’t hurt him.

“Why are you guys here?” Connie demanded. It was nice and all but they had no idea what they were getting into. She was sure Steven couldn’t take it if they suddenly him left too.

“I have _no_ idea, I’m too old for this.” Stan groaned, but declined Connie’s offer to be returned when Lion arrived with the rest of their family members. 

“We said we’d help Steven, and we are!”

“Besides, his....family, was that who they were?” The sword fighter nodded “They were being useless.” Ford said bluntly.

Connie couldn’t agree more. 

Steven stopped struggling for a second. She wasn’t sure why, but Connie wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to get through to him. She let go and slid down to Steven’s nose.

“Steven.” She said calmly, surprising herself by just how relaxed and comforting it sounded. Usually she felt that her voice would be shaking a little. But... this was Steven. She knew that she had no reason to be worried or frightened! He was the one person in the world that she felt the most comfortable with. If anything _he_ should have been frightened.  
So Connie said as much: “You must be so scared right now.” She peered into his left eye, trying not to think about the right one. “And you must have been so scared to show this side of you. But we’re all there for you. Even the gems _are_ trying to help-“ but at the mention of the gems he shivered and almost accidentally shook them off, so she tried a different tack. “ _I’ll_ always be there for you.” A tear slid down her cheek. Steven deserved so much more love and care than he got. As much as he gave out on a daily basis to others. How hadn’t they seen this before?

“Steven.” Dipper slid down, wobbling slightly but just managing to stay aboard the giant stage that was Steven’s nose.” I’ve only just met you, and I have so, so, so many questions for you, like who were those ladies, and why is-“

Connie cleared her throat.

“B-but that can wait. I only just met you and still you helped me open up to you more than I have to anyone else. And I see weird stuff like this everyday, so I promise not to judge you for it.” He lifted his cap and hair to show the ‘Big-Dipper’ birth mark. “Look, I’m a bit different too. This is where I got my name. I was teased a bit for it, but it’s what makes _me_ unique, like your... being half alien does you. My real name is-“

“Beeeeep! Time’s up! I wanna talk to Steven.” Mabel slid down to his nose. “Steven? It’s Mabel! And I just wanna say that you are the best person I’ve ever met.”

“Hey!” Stan pretended to be offended as he and his brother slid down too, only moaning slightly with ‘old man’ pains.

“And I know what’s it’s like to feel like you have to hide a part of you...” she thought back to her evil duplicate, hidden away somewhere alone in the portal. “But you helped me. I wanna help you!” She hugged him. 

Steven seemed to be listening with rapt attention now, standing stock still, eye trained on the small party sitting on his nose. 

“And _I_ know what it’s like to hate your family!”

“Hey!” It was Ford’s turn to pretend to be offended. 

“And... be scared of them...” Stan sighed, glancing at Steven’s hurt eye. It didn’t look like it would heal anytime soon. “So I want you to know that if you ever need a place to stay there is no better place than the Mystery Shack.”

A tear trickled slowly down the crevices and scales that were Steven’s face.

They were getting through to him! ‘ _Play it cool Connie’_ she sternly told herself. Now was not the time to snap him out of the ‘calm trance‘ state that he was currently in.

“And Stan and I both know what it’s like to have committed crimes and be seen as a criminal-“

“Speak for yourself, you’re only a criminal if they have records of you.” Stan murmured quietly.

“Heck, I’m an interdimensional outlaw. I _ate a planet_. I played chess with a demon intent on ruling and destroying the world! So even if you feel like... or you _are_ actually a murderer or an alien... or even a monster then that’s perfectly fine with me.”

Connie’s eyes widened considerably at the ‘murderer’ comment, but she kept it together. Now was not the time. 

“STEEEEVEN!” Peridot called, appearing rather abruptly and flying through the sky toward him on her trash can lid. She landed on his head and hugged him as best she could, her pudgy arms struggling to even cover one scale of the Kaiju. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have left! _You_ never gave up on _me_ for some reason I don’t understand! I’ll do the same for you!”

Connie looked into Steven’s good eye. Behind it all he was sad. Hurting. 

She was suddenly filled with so much compassion for him, her heart overflowing with pure love. 

“Steven... I don’t have your powers but...” And, just like in the fairy tales, she gave him a gentle, almost magical, kiss. 

Hopefully _this_ story would have a ‘happily ever after’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... no cliffhanger (ish)? That’s new!


	26. They’re all pretty ‘bright’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noo 2 day wait again! I’m sorry! I think I will have to change my sorry excuse for an update schedule to every 2nd day, but we will see. Lockdown is easing and I’m a bit busier!

_Bright_.

Had the sun always been so bright? 

“W-what?”

Steven buried his face deeper into the soft Cotton candy coloured cloud that was Lion, avoiding as much sunlight as possible.

Lion? Since when was Lion in Gravity Falls?

And... why was he wrapped in a trench coat? Lab coat... whatever.

Ugh... his whole body ached silently, sort of like how it had after the whole ‘Spinel’ incident.

Hang on...

_Bill._

_Tears._

_The Pines._

_He was an alien._

_He was a murderer._

_He was a monster!_

Steven tried to sit up, face wet with tears that he didn’t quite remember falling down his face. 

Though at the same time they felt long overdue.

Connie! The Pines! They were _all_ here?

“D-Did I-?” He began, lifting a hand to his aching head.

Hand. 

_Human_ hand. 

He was a human again. A gem again. Whatever. He was something that _wasn’t_ a monster at the very least. For now.

Connie nodded while smiling sadly, a look of both determination and sympathy in her beautiful dark chocolate brown eyes. 

The whole of the Pines family, Connie and... even Peridot were sitting around him. They were _all_ smiling sadly. 

He tried to remember what had happened, but instead of clear memories he got static that made his head ache desperately. Slowly some memories faded into focus.

Anger. Confusion. Pain.

His eye! Steven lifted a hand up to rub it, but he seemed to have a new blind spot. Great. Another thing that was wrong with him. How had he gotten it anyway? Thinking about it made his head ache more.

Whatever, needed to heal it, they’d be so disappointed in him if he couldn’t even do that anymore, he’d _already_ become a monster they were gonna want to leave him too-

Lion licked his face, bringing Steven back to Earth.

No. They wouldn’t leave. They said they cared about him. 

Didn’t they?

He leaned into Lion, tears streaming down his face. 

They wouldn’t leave him...

His future seemed a little brighter now, with all his friends by his side. He hoped that it would stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s no too long, the next one should be longer! Might post another today if I have time!


	27. An alien concept

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: This AMAZING chapter title provided by ohdeeritsfio!! Thank you!
> 
> Also hope this and the next one/two aren’t to boring, but you must have the calm before the storm I suppose? Hope you enjoy.

Eventually, after a silent and undetermined amount of time, they walked back to the Shack. Steven was still crumpled into Lion from his strong back, possibly still crying or perhaps sleeping. He’d certainly looked ready to pass outand he’d mumbled something about a headache. For that reason they hadn’t asked Lion to make him a portal, in case it jolted the hybrid about too much.

Instead of putting him on the couch they put him in Ford’s room, which would be much more comfortable. Ford was fine crashing on the sofa or his lab. The Great-Uncle’s bunk beds were due to be be arriving any day anyway.

“Ok, we need to have a talk.” Ford said once Steven had definitely drifted off into sleep. It appeared that transforming into something so colossal takes a lot out of you.

“Right.” Connie agreed. “But... I think someone should stay with Steven.” 

“Mmm... I’ll ask Soos if he can sit in here and... read or something. If that lummox can read.” Stan suggested. Though his words were harsh they were said with fondness. Soos was almost like a son to him. Almost.

So they positioned the handyman downstairs with Lion and Steven while they began a serious talk with his girlfriend and... the alien one.

“So you are telling me that he _is_ an alien?” Connie nodded.

“He’s half gem, a hybrid like I said. Gems aren’t organic, they’re made of light and their conscious is stored in their gemstones... it’s confusing, I know.” Wait, why was she explaining this why Peridot, the smartest gem she knew (at least when it came to her own species) was _right there_? Connie gave Peridot a ‘ _help me_ ’ look but of course she wasn’t paying attention.

“What _was_ that?” Dipper asked. He didn’t want to offend Steven in any way, but couldn’t keep in his myriad of questions any longer.

“Steven has lots of powers, they come from the gem in his stomach. One is shapeshifting. But his powers are tied to his emotions-“

“Which can _only_ lead to disaster; humans are always changing emotions! They are _constantly_ falling in love, murdering camp mates in anger, crying because their crush is with someone else-” Peridot began to ramble, but it became more and more apparent that she was just listing off plot points from Camp Pining Hearts. (She seemed very distracted. Maybe she was worried about Steven?)  
Connie raised an eyebrow. Apparently Peridot _was_ listening. Still, she didn’t offer any further explanation and Connie had to plow on. Why was this so easy to explain to her friends or new Beach City tourists, but not these people?

“I... think that because he felt like he was a monster, then he _became_ one.“ 

Well, _that_ was a very sobering thought indeed. None of them felt that Steven was bad at all, with the exception of Stan who admired being ‘bad’ above most else.

“What was this about him murdering someone?” Ford asked.

“I... hoped that was a joke.” Admitted Connie. But this was no time for joking and, as far as anyone knew, it was true.

“What could make him feel like that?” Mabel wondered, switching the subject and breaking the awkward silence that had formed between the large group of 6. She _really_ wished she could go and give Steven a hug, but didn’t like to disturb him.

“Well... Steven’s actually been through a lot. The gems and Greg... we never really thought about it before.” Connie but her lip. “He’s been though so many things... Things that could really affect a person negatively. Oh my goodness.... I.. I should call my Mom. She’s a doctor, she can look at Steven’s eye. Steven would trust her more than any other doctor I’d recon.” She pulled out her phone, but it was dead. She really needed a new one. Or, at the very least, a new battery. “Can I charge this?” 

“Um... I don’t have that kind of charger.” Dipper peered at it.

“Looks like it’s from the future or something lady.” Stan curled his lip at the device.

“My name is Connie.”

“Well, Connie, the name is Stanford Pines. I’m sure that I can whip something up.”

“Thanks.” She supposed this was a pretty secluded town. Maybe they were a little bit backwards with technology. They did still have a landline. Even her grandparents had gotten rid of theirs the year prior!

“No need, I’m always prepared!” Peridot plunged her hand into her hair and pulled out a changing cable triumphantly. They were going to ask (it is rather unnecessary for me to even _mention_ that having things stored in your hair bought up a lot of questions,) but were all distracted by her next statement “Steven _has_ been having human ‘nightmares‘ and things recently. That’s how _I_ knew that he wasn’t ‘fine’ like the others assumed.”

“What? And he didn’t tell me?” Connie tried not to feel hurt. This was about Steven, not her.

“Yeah, he can broadcast his subconscious onto the TV sometimes. We were using it to remake the remake of CPH. But they turned... rather nightmare-y.”   
“What do you mean?” 

“I think she means like... that?” Mabel pointed a shaky finger towards the TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head Cannon: Peridot does not store things in her gem. She stores them in her hair. Feel free to use this to whatever advantage it might bring. The possibilities are endless!!!!
> 
> Hoped that you enjoyed!


	28. This is a nightmare...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Televisions always tell the truth!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t feel that talkative today. Which is highly unusual. Hope you enjoy!

At first, old TV screen was only fizzing with static, the most recent episode of ‘Snake VS Spider’ (the latest fighting game show that Stan was into) disappearing quickly from view. It mainly involved seeing how long people can stand being trapped in a room with snakes and then spiders, and comparing which was worse. It was the kind of mindless and pointless show that he loved, especially in the aftermath of the heartbreaking end of ‘Ducktective’ after just two seasons. It _killed_ all the fans that it was over so soon, but there was always a fear that the whole show would be ruined by just one new season, as it might seem forced. Plus the amount of fillers would be excruciating with the main plot twist gone (SPOILER ALERT: Ducktective was actually a goose named ‘Goosetective’ and he’d been trying to find his brother Ducktective secretly for the whole show). 

Instead it began to show different, much more horrifying images and videos.

“Woah, dudes, this show is wild!” Soos said, stepping into the room.

“ _Why_ aren’t you with Steven?” Connie snapped, disliking the idea of leaving him alone after the recent events. Still, she immediately regretted speaking so harshly as the man pouted a bit.

“Well, he started-“

But that was when the TV decided to finally settle on something. It was a rather... warm looking room, for lack of a better way to describe it. To Connie it looked a bit like for Forge Bismuth had made her sword in, if perhaps darker. Scarier.

Bismuth was _there_ , attacking Steven, yelling at him, calling him Rose, though she _knew_ he had some kind of complex about that.

Wait... was she trying to kill him?

“W-why is Steven so small?” Mabel whimpered. Connie looked again, and Steven was, indeed, much smaller than they would have ever seen him.

“And is that one of the aliens that was here earlier?“ Dipper was astounded, forgetting the amazing appearance of Steven’s superpowers and being sucked into the events unfolding on the screen. “They _actually_ tried to kill him?“

“Most of the ... gems did...” even as she was saying it Connie realised how bad that sounded. 

“Yep! I tried to blast him with a ship, I originally planned to betray them, I tried to kidnap Connie, and Lars and... others that are less important to me.” Peridot grinned, as if these were in some _odd_ way, fond memories “he still forgave me though.”

“So he still _lived_ with you all after you tried to kill him?” Stan asked

“No, just with the three that formed that large fusion-“

“The one that took his eye out?” Ford sounded particularly unimpressed, his voice gaining a rather unusually venomous edge.

“Well...”

The TV fuzzed again, changing from one horrific scene to the next. They all seemed to be derived from nightmares.

Locked in jail cell? _Check_. 

Watching horrific mutations made of dead aliens? _Check_.

Floating alone in space? _Check_.

Then the most recent:

Being hurt badly by your family. _Check_.

As if it were an afterthought the screen hesitantly turned an inky black, showing a scared and confused pink Steven, back to his normal size.

“ _H...hello_?” He called uncertainty, voice buzzing with static. The floor under his feet began to shatter into a thousand pieces and-

At this point Connie mercifully snapped out of her shock and rushed to yank the TV’s cord out of its socket, probably damaging it in the process.

Stanly, despite his cheep nature and love for his television didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

“What _was_ that?” Dipper repeated.

“Based off of previous events I’d guess that was his nightmare.” Peridot answered matter-o-factly, before realising what she was saying and bolting from the room yelling “ _STEEEEEVEN_!” 

“Should we go... help him?” 

“Knowing Peridot and how full on she can be... that’s probably a really good idea.”

* * *

It was dark. Very dark. Steven almost missed the horrific memories that had been flooding him mere seconds ago.

Almost.  
The environment around Steven reminded him of space. Inky darkness as far as the eye could see. It felt... very _real_ all of a sudden. 

Had he _finally_ woken up from his nightmares?

Where _was_ he?

“H...hello?” Steven took a step forwards, only to loose his footing as the floor began cracking. 

No. Not cracking.

The floor was shattering.

_He_ had shattered it.

Steven clung desperately to a single floating piece, trying to pull himself up or float, but it seemed that his powers (and arms) had stopped working. Above him on the platform three figures appeared, forming out of white butterflies to become easily recognisable shapes. The Crystal gems. 

His family.

Steven desperately flailed his free arm towards them, begging them to lift him up. 

They did not.

Pearl’s eyes were unusually cold and uncaring, Amethyst was ultra serious and sporting a disappointed snarl and Garnet had formed her gauntlets.

“Why would we help a _MONSTER_?” Their voices echoed and merged into that of Alexandrite.

Together the gems he loved began stomping on the platform as it cracked and tipped and then the hybrid was falling...

Down, down, down...


	29. Dream job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I disappeared for a few days! Just stuff happening in life (still is) but I’m back to writing again! So sorry for the wait! I’ll try post any other tonight to make up for it!  
> Also I didn’t realise how angsty this fic is. I should try something fluffier next... hmm... any ideas? I might be incapable of fluff, tho that’s what I like reading....

Steven awoke with a jolt, breathing deeply. 

His dream... no, his _nightmare_ had felt so real. Especially when he was falling like that, that he had to cling to the side of the bed to stop the dizzy (but relieved) feeling from taking over. He was dimly aware that Peridot was shaking him, adding to his growing nausea.

“Wake up! Steven! Wake up!” 

“Peridot? I-I’m awake.” Ugh. His headache was already back.

“Steven! Steven! Steven, you were having a nightmare!” Peridot announced unnecessarily. He took a sharp breath in, pulling the air towards his lungs and down his parched throat. _Stars_ was he thirsty.

“W-Was it on-“

“I unplugged the TV.” Connie told him, appearing next to Steven and giving him a tight reassuring hug.

“S-Sorry.” He pushed her off slightly because he felt so weak, and Connie’s strong arms, trained by years of wielding her heavy sword, was a bit much. She smiled sadly at him, pushing the hybrid back down onto Ford’s mattress.

He almost protested but the bed was so comfortable and it was so hard to concentrate. Steven, for once, didn’t feel too sad or angry or anything. 

He was just... tired. 

Everything seemed a little fuzzy and far away, as if it were all underwater.

He blushed when he saw through his hazy one eyed vision that the whole lot of his friends were at the door, along with Mr Mystery. Soos.

“Steven I got your jacket! It’s all pink again!” 

Pink. He was pink, wasn’t he? No? Oh. 

Suddenly he felt more than just ‘tired’. Steven didn’t want to be pink. He was literally only just covered in _pink_ scales. He didn’t exactly want to put the jacket on right away.

“Thanks.” He tried not to sound annoyed by the idea. Mabel was clearly only trying to make him feel better.

Thankfully Ford seemed to catch on. “Let’s let Steven rest. We can find something else to do rather than watch TV.” He suggested, and ushered them all away, including Peridot. He could see that Steven was still absolutely exhausted. He’s barely slept more than 10 minutes. Besides, the little green _alien_ Peridot seemed like a very interesting being to talk to. Very great and yet also rather loveable. 

“I’m texting my Mom to ask her to come down after her shift.”

“I’m fine-“ Connie gave him a look.

“ _Don’t_ give me that Universe. You know it doesn’t work on me.”

“Sor-“

“Not that either.”

Connie retrieved her phone from Peridot’s charger and sent her Mom a message before Steven could change her mind, or the subject. He was much too good at that.

“Guess I should tell the gems that it worked.”

“ **No!** I mean...” Steven put his hand in his hair, clutching it as if it were a lifeline. “I don’t want to-“ He didn’t want to _what_? Steven scoured his mind desperately for a good excuse. He could _not_ say he didn’t want to see them. He should have forgiven them already, they didn’t know that he was Steven when they hurt him!

But then again...

He kept imagining it happening over and over and knew he couldn’t stand the idea of them being near him at that moment.

Why couldn’t he forgive them? He forgave everyone else. Ugh...

But Connie saves him again by somehow reading his mind.

“That’s ok. I’ll just let them know that you are ok so they don’t worry.” She quickly typed them checked that Steven was ok with what she said.

”But if I don’t go home yet what will I-“

”The Pines said they are happy to look after you. When you’re a bit better I’m sure they’re happy to let you work here if you’re worried about being here for free.”

”I’m not _sick_ or anything _,_ I could do it now-“

“ _Now_ you need to sleep, ok? It’ll take my mom a few hours to get here.”

“You don’t have to bother her I’m sure she’s very busy-“

“ _Steven_.” 

He backed down with a smile, yawning. Steven could tell when he was beaten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that you enjoyed!


	30. Wanted: Corrupted or Uncorrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small check in with the Crystal Gems as they discover Steven’d absence once again (hopefully they take it more seriously this time).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! (And ignore the poorly thought out chapter title lol)

“We’re back! And we got the-“ Bismuth stopped in surprise. 

The clearing was empty. Steven should have been easy to spot from just about _any_ distance considering how large he was now. 

But there was... absolutely nothing. Not even trees. They’d all been trampled or knocked down in the space Steven had been.

Pearl was freaking out, Garnet was spying over possible futures (but once more Steven was impossible to predict), Lapis wandered off to try and find him and Amethyst was pacing about, likely blaming herself for not staying.

“Where’s Peridot? Wasn’t she with you guys?” It seemed a simpler, less obvious and (hopefully) less stressful question for them to answer than ‘where’s Steven’.

“She said she was going to stay with Steven, but she’s disappeared too!” Pearl summoned the three makeshift drink bottles of diamond essences from her gem as well as the empty one, neglecting to make a big show of it due to the gravity of the situation. “We have no idea where any of them are!” 

Lapis returned, looking downtrodden. She carefully put the pink healing water in the final drink bottle, but she felt like tipping them all onto the ground in frustration.

“He’s not anywhere, he must have run further away.” She’d run away before. It wasn’t a good idea. You can never run away from yourself, no matter how far you go you’ll always be there. What if Steven was trying to get away from himself?

“But Steven was _trapped_!” Amethyst gestured wildly to where they guessed the barrier was. It was hard to tell as they were not affected by it. The only indication that they were in the right place was the broken trees and giant footprints.

“Perhaps he broke it?” Bismuth suggested.

“Why did Steven have to brake the bottles, we could have used them to heal him before he escaped!” Pearl sounded near tears. “The gems who were corrupted have only said that they felt scared and confused and angry. Steven must be so lost!” 

“He could be anywhere. Let’s split up and look for him.” Garnet suggested. 

“Wait, I just got a message from Connie!” Pearl announced, waving her phone about dangerously, though it was clear to see in the hot afternoon sun. “It says... ‘Steven is fine now but he needs some space’.” 

Everyone was bum founded. Did that mean he had calmed down or been uncorrupted? How could they get the essences you uncorrupt him before they had?

“O-oh.” Garnet didn't like to admit she had not seen this in her future vision.

She hadn’t seen _anything_! They never saw anything coming anymore!

Why hadn’t they-

They?

No, not they. _She_.

Garnet _needed_ to be stable right now, she needed to be calm so this could all be sorted out. 

The fusion took three deep, calming breaths. If she had lungs it probably would have been more beneficial.

Yep. The future was still a complete garbled mess. 

“Why wouldn’t he choose to stay with us? I mean, I can understand leaving you guys after you-“

“ _Lapis_!” Bismuth hissed, seeing Steven’s guardian’s faces.

Lapis realised what she said and added “no offence” but it was pretty useless as her comment had already sunk in.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl gave each other a long, sad look, all thinking the exact same thing. Only Amethyst has the courage to whisper it out loud, her voice unusually somber.

“It’s... it’s _all_ our fault that he’s gone... it’s our fault that he even ran away in the first place.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh I just noticed that this fic is soo long so far. I formally apologise if any of you dislike longer fics! Hope you enjoyed anyway, I’m certainly enjoying writing this. And the fact that there are people who actually read it makes me want to scream!!!!  
> Also, don’t forget I’m always open to suggestions/criticism, so let me know if there is something I need to improve upon!


	31. Doctor, Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo.... my update schedule went out the window.... I promise it will be back on track soon though. My family member is out of hospital so so long as 2020 doesn’t decide to throw something else at us all I should be more consistent!  
> Also sorry if this chapter isn’t too accurate? I’m not too sure how a doctor would actually deal with this....

“How is he?” Connie asked her mother, shifting from foot to foot on the wood floor of the shack, listening to the creak of the old wood. It was Summer and the day had been rather long and hot but now, as the sun sank below the trees, she felt cold in her shorts and rather thin shirt. Her mother was dressed much more sensibly in a comfortable pair of trousers and her typical doctor getup. She really had rushed straight over to help.

“Well, all of his body was under immense stress and strain, obviously, because of his... transformation?” Dr Maheswaran looked at Ford for confirmation.

He seemed like the most responsible person in the group. When she’d arrived the only other adult she had seen (likely the first one’s twin due to the uncanny likeness they shared, minus the fact that one of them was polydactyl in both his hands) was scratching his back with a sharp looking crowbar. 

“Ugh... yes. He transformed into a kaiju-like creature. I can show you some sketches that I-“

“That will not be necessary. However I will request that he gets plenty of rest. I’d also like to refer Steven to the local hospital and a therapist.“

“A therapist? Surely he doesn’t need some... shrink? I heard they fill your head with-”

“ _Physically_ Steven will be fine. But he recently confided to me that he has endured a lot of childhood trauma. And, from what both he and Connie have said, this sounds more like he had a breakdown that manifested with his powers, not ‘corruption’. I’ve had the chance to study the gems that corrupted. From what I can tell it results in a lot more physical scarring as well as damage to the gem. Steven does have some scaring on his back as well as several starches all over that he will not disclose the origins of-“

“The other aliens! They were attacking him when they didn’t know who he was.”

“Hmm“ The doctor scribbled something on her notepad, a peeved look on her face. “... well, but I can only assume that that will all heal in time anyway.”

“What about his eye?” Connie questioned nervously.

“I’m afraid that it’s not something that we can likely heal. There has been significant damage to it, and it appears that he will not regain sight in that eye. Possibly ever, though I’m no Optometrist.”

“But he can heal it. Like he did to my eyes!”

“Connie,” she placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, seeing that she was distressed. It had been a long day, and apparently she’d stayed so calm. There was always going to be a point where she might unravel, and apparently that was now. Priyanka wanted to do her best to explain what was going on without worrying her too much. It was so much easier with patients she didn't have such a strong emotional connection with.

“He has told me that he can’t use any of his powers at the moment. He could just be tired or his current mental state could be interfering with them. He needs rest, honey.” 

“Ok.” Did that mean that he wouldn’t be able to fuse or float? Connie knew that gave Steven a lot of joy. His life revolved around using such powers to help everyone around him.

Actually... a break might do him good, now that Connie thought about it.

“And you? What was your name sorry?”

“Stanford Pines. And this is my brother, Stanley.”

Priyanka raised an eyebrow at the similar names, but didn’t comment. Sometimes parents weren’t expecting twins, and that was fine. Though it did irritate her a bit.

“I’m under the understanding that he is staying with you at the moment? You’re ok with that?”

Ford nodded.

”Well, he is a minor, so technically he should be with his legal guardians, but due to his... exceptional circumstances I’ve chosen to overlook it. For now. Ok, make sure that he gets plenty of rest, eats properly and give this number a call if you need me. I will refer him as soon as possible to a therapist. I’m the closest he has to a GP, apparently.” She pulled another face at this, but continued. “I’d make sure there was someone with him. When people are distressed they can make poor decisions. But don’t make him feel trapped, that can be terribly damaging for someone with childhood trauma.”

“Of course.”

She handed him a small set of notes with the instructions she had given, along with a small dose of pain medication in case Steven started needing it.

“I’ll ask the....” did this lady know about the aliens? Of course she did, besides Stan had already mentioned them. But perhaps he wouldn’t mention Peridot just yet. “...kids to give him space too. I asked them to go play upstairs while we talked.”

As if to confirm this there was a sudden shriek and small crash from the room above them followed by Peridot’s triumphant cry

“ _See? I have METAL POWERS!_ ”

_“Cool!”_

_“Hey!!! My phone!”_  
“Don’t worry, they’re perfectly safe.” Stan told her.

_”HOW IS IT ON FIRE?”_

_“I don’t know! That doesn’t usually happen!”_

_”Quick, save the Pigs and children first!”_

”See? Fire will teach them.... ugh... insert sappy adult lesson here?”   
Thankfully Connie’s Mom seemed to be ignoring her.

“Well...” Priyanka cleared her throat. “It’s getting terribly late, we better get going.” She picked up her bag, walking towards the door.

“Mom? I’m not leaving Steven!”

“You need to rest. You can take your... Lion out to him tomorrow, if he doesn’t want space. Steven just had a major breakdown honey.”

“Fine, let me go say goodbye.” 

The hallway they were gathered in was awkwardly silent when she left.

“Ugh....” Stan rubbed his neck. “T-thanks. We’ll do our best to make sure he is ok.”

“Are you going to have a talk with his family?” Ford asked. He was rather annoyed at them.

“You bet.” And she had such an angry and determined look on her face that both Pines were deeply grateful that they were not the ones in the path of the doctor’s wrath. If she did anything short of killing them they’d be surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! ;D


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff (or a complete lack of it. Well, as much fluff as I seem capable of writing anyway... hmmm..) to make up for my unexpected hiatus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I beg that you all forgive me for this EXTRAORDINARILY late chapter. I’m so sorry! 2020 decided to throw it’s worst at me :p. Hopefully things will calm down again! I should be able to post another (hopefully very long) chapter tomorrow or tonight to make up for this long wait!  
> Hope no one is particularly mad at me lol.

“EEKKKK! He’s gonna tell them, he’s gonna tell them...! Wait.... wait for it... wait for it.... Mr Silver is....” Peridot burst out, inadvertently covering up anything that was currently being said on the TV. 

“Peridot!” Steven moaned, half teasing and half serious. “You’re giving it all away!” 

“I can’t help it! This is my 6th favourite movie of all time! No... 8th. Ignoring the (minor) plot holes it’s a brilliant movie!”

Steven smiled and looked around the room (this would have been much easier with two eyes, but he was trying not to think about that). He, Dipper, Mabel, Peridot and Waddles were having a good old movie marathon. 

It was nice.

Steven knew that it was just to distract him really. At the start only Peridot was _actually_ really hyped about the movie, and the rest of them had those ‘we’re happy if you’re happy’ faces on.

Peering around now he took immense comfort in the fact that the rest of them had been slowly drawn in to the crazy plot too. Now they weren’t _just_ here for him and it wasn’t a waste.

Ugh.... he wasn’t supposed to think like that, right?

...Did they _know_ he was thinking like that?

Steven peered around once more, knowing he was acting paranoid but not really caring.

He was being stupid, no one could read minds.

Well... maybe Connie could. Every time he said that he was feeling ‘fine’ now she would give him a huge hug and tell him not to lie to her.

It was kind of... nice that she noticed. He was used to people just accepting his word as complete and utter truth, because of course he was fine, why shouldn’t he be?

He wasn’t that ‘fine’ at the moment, actually.

Steven was more than anxious about going to the therapist on Tuesday. But that was several days away, he was fine for now.

Fine. He was fine.

Hopefully the therapist would be too.

(Had he really sunk that low? That he needed someone to just listen to him while he whined about his problems?)

‘Shut up, shut up, _shut up..._ ’ Steven commanded himself internally. But his mind continued to wander.

They couldn’t _force_ him to go, could they? He had way more strength than any of them, perhaps even _combined_ , and though he’d felt drained for the last week or so there was no way any of the humans could use brute force to take on him.

But with words they could probably easily convince him.... 

He used to do that to people all the time. It was irritating, and he wished he hadn’t.   
Though then Peridot might not be sitting here, on Earth, enjoying its comforts. Instead she, with many other gems, would be working until they cracked.

Hmm...

Maybe Steven could-

No. He couldn’t run away again. The hybrid knew that the Pines would find him again. They were nice like that.

Unlike his own family.

They hadn’t even tried to contact him since he was... since he had recovered from his ‘meltdown’.

Well, he _had_ said he wanted space, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to see them!

Well.... maybe it did....

“I knew it!!” 

“I never would have seen that coming!” Mabel cried.

What? Steven hadn’t been paying attention.

Waddles oinked.

“Waddles knew, obviously. He did used to be the worlds smartest pig!”

“W-what happened? Sorry.” Steven asked, adding the apology out of habit.

“Well, Mr Silver _is_ Jackie....” she paused for dramatic affect “... from the future...“ 

“Ohh. Wait what? He’s been fighting... himself?” 

“Yep!” Peridot sighed happily as the credits began to lazily slide across the screen. She seemed content with this ending, and the others didn’t seem that bothered either. Dipper had already began scouring the DVDs Connie had bought over. He was probably looking for some old detective movie or something.

But Steven found himself longing for more.

“And it... ends on that?” 

“Yep!”

“N-no happy ending?” He didn’t want to sound like he was begging, but it kind of slipped out like that anyway.

“Steven....” Mabel edged closer to him, silently asking for permission to touch. He nodded slightly and she engulfed him in a strong hug. 

Immediately Steven found himself relaxing into it, greatly appreciating the kind gesture. “ _You’ll_ get a happy ending, don’t worry.” They day for a minute in comfortable silence, until a wet snout started pushing desperately against him. Mabel giggled into Steven’s stomach. “See, Waddles agrees!” Waddles wasn’t indeed snuffling into him, but that might have been a result of the popcorn all over his top.

Steven decided to let Mabel have that one though. He couldn’t deny the pudgy creature made him feel a little better, even if it was only cupboard love. 

“Just because Jackie didn’t have a happy ending doesn’t mean you won’t. I’m sure there’s a part two!” 

“Nope.” Peridot didn’t seem to realise this wasn’t helping. “It ended with a duel to the death... with himself....His past self won, of course!” She sighed, rather happily. Steven thought that she hated plot holes or cliffhangers, but apparently not. Well, not unless it was her beloved CPH.

The gem hybrid watched silently as another movie flashed to life on the screen. 

It was evidently supposed to be a dramatic and scary horror/mystery story, but the acting was so bad and the storyline so cheesy that they all mostly just burst out laughing instead of screaming like they were supposed to. It suited Steven fine though. He’d didn’t remember ever enjoying a horror film.

Steven let his mind drift a little, curling his hair around his finger again and again, then letting it ping off in a satisfying manner.

He was kinda fighting himself too, wasn’t he? 

He knew, deep inside, that a therapist _might_ help.

He knew, deep inside, that Peridot, Connie and the Pines _wanted_ to help him.

He knew, deep inside, that he wasn’t really ‘fine’ as he protested.

Yet he had to keep fighting off the thoughts and emotions that kept pushing these truths deeper and deeper inside of him, until they were almost gone.

He had to fight to bring them back.

Suddenly the movie ending didn’t seem so bad after all... like some sort of metaphor, maybe. 

‘Mr Silver’ was Jackie’s past come back to haunt him....

Or would that be his future....?

“ **AGHHHHHHH** ” The mystery twins and Peridot suddenly screamed, as a jump scare popped up out of nowhere.

Then Dipper began to sheepishly laugh at the monster which now appeared rather cheesy and fake, the rest of them following quickly. 

“I wasn’t scared by this... rubbish.” He declared, a quiver in his voice. Then he suddenly deafened them all by adding “That was obviously fake... BLOOD THERE IS BLOOD ON THE SPOON GET OUT IT’S THE CHEF!!!! HE’S THE MONSTER!” Dipper screamed, as if he somehow felt the character could hear him, forgetting to laugh at the flaws in continuity which Peridot sourly pointed out.

“But the chef was _there_ in the background of the very first scene, when the monster ate the mayor’s 4th dog. _He_ was the one that called the detective/monster hunter while the monster was _right there_!”

Steven smiled. Not all movies had such deep metaphors, he supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed (and I apologise again for the wait!)


	33. I HAVE RETURNED AND CANNOT THINK OF A NAME FOR THIS CHAPTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How’s Connie doing?  
> (PS sorry for the long wait+long notes)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I have been gone so long, I deeply apologise! I kinda gave up on writing after several bad things happened. But things are looking up now. Most importantly I got a kitten (crazy cat lady warning) and really want to continue this work.  
> I was also inspired to continue by this AMAZING drawing by StrawberruS0da of Stevie, thank you it’s BEAUTIFUL!  
> Warning before you look at it, 1 there is a lil bit of blood and 2 IT IS AMAZING:  
> bloodhttps://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/729889887460917314/750808993139523634/unknown.png  
> So this is for you StrawberruS0da, thank you for inspiring me, you are my favourite human for the day :D

Connie was worried about Steven. 

Well, _that_ was an understatement. She was always worried about him! He certainly gave her plenty of reasons to be.

There was something akin to a small consistent buzz in the back of her mind that made her want to go check up on him. Like one of those songs that gets stuck in your head.

Everything reminded her of him, even while she was sitting alone at home, far, far away from his current location.

Her best friend was still _so_ unstable, physically _and_ mentally.

He’d still flash up in a bright, neon pink occasionally, and didn’t like to talk about his therapy sessions, though he had already had quite a few.

She didn’t like to push him even so.

He’d seemed to have realised that they all _wanted_ to help him, which was a very huge step indeed. Her boyfriend (Was he Connie’s boyfriend? Like, officially? Was it a good time to go into that? No. Probably not...) would actually shoot her a text if he felt really down or had a nightmare, without invading too much into her study time, of course.

(It was sweet that he cared deeply about her mental health and her schoolwork. Even though Steven’s mental health was a lot... shakier. And the alien hybrid’s earth schoolwork was... completely nonexistent, almost to the point where it was concerning)

But... often when she came to the strange little town in Oregon on Lion they’d be talking and he’d slip out something about him being a monster, or an alien or another ‘thing’ that he deemed unworthy of some privilege or form of help.

She was also almost 100% sure that the situation with the gems was bothering him.

She’d promised to attack them with her sword (not that it could have any hopes of prevailing against the hard light weapons of Steven’s former guardians) if they tried to come close, but for once Connie wasn’t sure wether that was what he actually wanted.

Or, indeed, what he needed.

They were still his family even though they’d.. well... 

The girl swallowed thickly and pushed her thick dark curls behind her ears, playing at concentrating on the schoolwork. She tested directing a quick glance down at the book open flat in front of her. It seemed like the numbers had shrunk on the page and increased sharply in volume making her lose all interest in trying to read them.  
  
Instead Connie jumped back to her Jam-Bud.

She saw, quite clearly, how touchy he was around the subject of his eye, and she hadn’t seen him open it since he’d uncorrupted. He’d forced it open but had whimpered that he still couldn’t _see._ And he’d mentioned that his depth perception was a little askew.

Maybe he would benefit from talking to Volleyball, even if she came to him so Steven didn’t have to risk seeing the gems?

Had he tried to heal his eye, like he had Volleyball’s? She wasn’t actually sure.

Did his healing powers still even work? Would it make him uncomfortable to ask?

That was yet another worry to add to the growing pile. She wouldn't _ever_ admit it but she was a little scared of Steven.

No, that wasn’t right. 

Connie furiously scrubbed at her latest working out, having found that she’d started unconsciously doodling a cartoon version of Steven on her maths. Her teacher would not approve. He hated ‘young love’, probably because he was too boring and grouchy to have a sweetheart himself.

No no _no_ , she wasn’t scared _of_ Steven, more like scared of hurting him.

What if she said something that made him turn back? Or made him feel worse about himself?

No. Steven was Connie’s best friend, and vice versa. He would surely say if something she said bothered him.

With that conclusion Connie snapped shut her workbook, pushing the maths homework to the side for now. She glanced at her watch. Surely she had time to see Steven before curfew?

Well, her Mom would never know even if there wasn’t. Dr Maheswaran told Connie that she had had to go and make a house call, and wouldn’t be back for several hours. Her father wouldn’t mind...

Hopefully.

Whistling for lion she opened her window, before jumping fearlessly out of it.

Connie had been practicing with the lazy pink cat, and he was getting excellent at catching her before she hit the ground.

And, if he failed, her Mom’s well tended shrubs in the backyard would serve well to prevent any broken bones.

The magnificent creature roared and before she knew it they were outside the mystery shack, just far enough away not to attract the attention of the dimwitted tourists that flocked around it.

Who knew how they’d react to something the magnificent, but potentially deadly creature. Especially after looking at how some of them acted when they saw Peridot (screaming and some tears, much to Peridot’s distaste) until the owner assured them that she was obviously painted. 

“Thanks Lion.” She scratched behind his ears and he happily flopped under his favourite tree, gnawing on a pointed sign the read “This way for a world of mys-“ before it was cut off by his jaws.   
Connie whipped out her phone, about to shoot Lion’s actual owner a text so he would know that they were coming.

“ **Wow! What an entrance! I’m impressed!** ”

The teenager spun around, grinning, expecting the smiling face of Steven.   
She assumed that he must have _somehow_ guessed they were coming!

However, before she could register anything her world lurched and tilted sideways before suddenly was plunging the poor girl into complete darkness...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will DEFINITELY update more often, but I do have a lot of exams stuff as the world reopens, so I will update as much as possible. Also sorry if it’s going a lil slow, it should pick up again soon.  
> Also, do tell me if there is anything I can improve on/fix! (In the profound words of Amethyst: ‘Gimme a break; I’m rusty!’)


	34. A chapter?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You may need to reread previous chapters if you haven’t to remind you of the story. Basically Steven is in Gravity Falls, had a tantrum as the kaju and Bill took Connie).  
> I’ve had this chapter written and sitting lonely on my phone. I’ve edited it but if there are any major (or minor but annoying) mistakes feel free to tell me.   
> Hopefully I can add to this and continue this story, even if it takes awhile!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No amount of apologies can make up for how long I’ve left this fanfic! I’m so sorry for the wait. If anyone cares enough I’ll try explain:  
> Basically this year (as has been for everyone I think) has been life changing for me. I’ve lost some family members and things like that, and it’s made me lose my passion for writing a little. I love writing and rereading what I’d written here made me strangely proud. Fanfics like this is what changed my writing from childish to something much more developed that I actually kinda like. So I don’t want to abandon it. As mentioned this chapter was pre written and sitting on my phone. Thought I’d post it and add to it when I can. No promises as to when though sorry.

“Soos? Grunkle Ford wants to know if he can set off this new expl- ... _Lion_?” Despite the fact that Dipper had grown slightly accustomed to seeing the fuzzy pink wildcat roaming about the Mystery Shack over the few weeks he wasn’t expecting him to be out in the car park, alone. 

Well, he was not exactly _alone_.

Soos, dressed in his ‘Mr Mystery’ suit, was halfway up a tree, clinging to a branch close to the ground with one chubby arm, brandishing a broom with the other. He swung it slightly wildly, missing Lion by miles.

Lion did not seem to care or notice, instead opting to chew on a sign, ignoring the presence of the startled man entirely.

“Dipper, dude, you gotta help me.”

“Don’t worry Soos, he’s completely harmless.” Dipper told him, despite being actually very frightened of the creature himself.

Sure, he’d been bitten by a mountain lion before, but it was miniature! It had still hurt, but less.

But his acting seemed to be better than he thought (perhaps he could try voice acting or something in the future?), because Soos let go of the tree and fell on the ground with a thump, trusting in Dipper’s judgement of Lion’s character.

“How have we not told you about him before?” 

“You dudes have been more interested in the glowing alien guy.”

“He’s not a full Alien, only half.” The twin corrected Soos absentmindedly, staring at Lion.  
It _was_ strange that they’d come over so many times but he’d never seen him. Even Wendy had seen Connie (and Dipper wasn’t even marginally jealous that they got along so well, no matter what Mable chanted every time he blushed).

Speaking of Steven’s girlfriend (who he was NOT jealous of, even though he knew Wendy was bi and _what if she liked Connie and not him_?), where was Connie? She was never far behind her Lion usually, but Steven hadn’t mentioned her being here.

In fact, Dipper was certain that Steven was having another quiet ‘makeup bud’s’ session with Mable, just the two of them. 

And Candy and Grenada, of course.

Mmm. Maybe it wasn’t going to be _that_ quiet.

“Where’s Connie?” He asked Lion, feeling awkward talking to the large cat, eyeing his teeth. Was he supposed to talk to it... _him_ like a pet, or like a person?

He yawned, rolled over and continued munching on the sign.

Dipper was pretty sure that he couldn’t talk anyway, therefore talking to him was pretty useless.

So he resorted to peering around, searching for clues.

He was glad he’d kept up on his summer reading. 

This had to be a mystery...

“So, Connie is missing... good thing I’m a practiced and well respected detective. My sharp eyes never miss a single, tiny clue, even if I have to search for days, years or even months-“

“Found something!” Soos held up a phone, letting the sun glint off it’s perfect non-scratched screen and into Dipper’s sharp eyes.

“Ow! Agh! I’m blind! Soos, aim that somewhere else!” He scrubbed furiously until his vision returned. “Can I see?”

“Oh, sure dude!“ Dipper peered at it, narrowing his sharp eyes.

“Ok, now, how can we be sure it’s her’s?”

“I dunno, it would be pretty weird if anyone else had that screensaver dude.”

It didn’t take long to discover that, once again, Soos was right. The picture was of Connie and Steven, both grinning. The girl was brandishing a sword and the half alien hybrid was leaning on a pink, circular sheild.

He wasn’t entirely sure if that was one of his many mysterious powers (though hadn’t Steven’s one been diamond shaped?) or if it was like Connie’s sword. 

Ever since she said she was basically a knight Mable had been all over her, begging for directions in using a sword and slaying dragons (she hadn’t quite gotten that Connie was more of a metaphorical knight rather than an actual one. Or perhaps she just didn’t care? It was sometimes hard to tell with his optimistic twin). Mable was also very hopeful about Steven and Connie’s romance, observing how they interacted and asking countless questions about how they met and how to fall in love, not seeming to notice how it made the teens blush and titter nervously. When she got to the topic of marriage Steven’s cheeks had blushed neon pink, signalling that the conversation should be brought to an abrupt close and never bought up again. Like an opened but empty treasure chest, another mystery never to be answered. 

Ugh, he was getting off topic.

_Focus, Dipper he_ commanded himself, setting his sights back on the phone, which had begun vibrating in his hand. A ringtone played, and it sounded like a ukulele.

It was the ringtone Connie had for Steven! Obviously Connie was with him, had noticed it was missing and had called her phone to help find it. He’d overreacted, clearly.

Dipper answered, waving goodbye to Soos as he ambled back towards the shack, having noticed that another bus load of tourists had appeared. 

Before he could get a word in edge ways an urgent voice started talking at an almost inhuman speed.

Maybe because the owner _was_ almost inhuman.

“H-Hey Connie, I-I know you’re busy but I had this really weird dream and I had to check it wasn’t real. S-Sorry I called you, I don’t wanna tell the Pi-“

“Uh... Steven, this is Dipper.” He silently cursed himself for allowing his voice to crack halfway through. He was just surprised. And worried. Steven hadn’t sounded _that_ panicked since he’d started seeing his therapist again.

“Ooh... Oh no. Oh my stars, I have to go.” 

The call cut off abruptly. 

“Mable!?” Dipper called running back towards the house. He found her in their room, covered in copious amounts of makeup, with stickers plastered throughout her hair. 

It almost looked like she’d somehow gotten into smiledip again, but Dipper choose to ignore it and scanned their room.

Steven, Candy and Grenada were nowhere to be found. 

“Where’s Steven?”

“He kept complaining he was really tired, so I told him where there was a quiet tree he could nap under, like a little squirrel! I wonder if he can grow a tail! I should ask him! Why do you need him?”

“He called Connie’s phone, which I found by the parking lot, and sounded really panicked.”

“Is he ok?” Mable was suddenly hyper alert, thankfully taking this seriously. 

“I don’t know, show me the place where you told him to go?”

“Of course, and maybe we should grab Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford? I think they were trying to put together their bunk bed.”

Dipper nodded, and they ran downstairs. 

They were going to get to the bottom of this.

  
△

A safe distance away a figure watched the growing chaos, chuckling. 

It was all going perfectly so far. As he knew it would. His plans always went well.

It was funny how stupid they all could be too.

If they were smart, they wouldn’t be running to find Steven.

They’d be running _away_.

Far, far away.

Their pointless antics couldn’t serve to amuse him forever though, so the creature spun around.

He had some... business to attend to.

△

“Connie?! Connie?!” Steven tried you conjure up enough positive emotions to float, but it was as if the rejuvenator had been used on him again. 

He could feel all the hard work he’d put in with his therapist tumbling down, and his cheeks glowing bright pink.

His anxiety was through the roof, but he dared not stop to practice the breathing exercises or grounding techniques that she had suggested, though he had promised he would always at least try them if he panicked. He’d let down everyone else, why not his therapist too?

“Connie!” He called again, deciding to just screw it and allow the pink feeling to envelop him, fuelling his speed. “ _Connie_!”

The hybrid came to a standstill, creating skid marks in the dirt. 

He shivered.

_This_ was the clearing all right.

A dead patch of grass sat in a triangle shape where Bill had once lay dormant.

_Before I messed it all up._ Stevenscolded himself.

How could he have forgotten he’d set Bill loose?! How, how, how?!  
And... he was reluctant to admit it, but he wasn’t the only one. How had they all been so stupid?

A large, monstrous footprint was imprinted into the ground mere meters from him, along with several squished trees.

His monstrous foot pink, Steven shamefully admitted to himself.

He hadn’t healed any of the trees for fear that he might create even more monsters.

_No_ , he wasn’t a monster, he wasn’t supposed to think that he was a monster.

And he was getting off-topic. He was here to _save_ Connie. How could he be so selfish that he was thinking about himself, not his best friend, who had _disappeared_?

“ **Look who it is! Pink Diamond, in the flesh! Or should I say in the... hard light? Not sure where I was going with that one.** ”

“Can it, I’m half human!” Steven spun around, his worry for Connie (and perhaps gem powered pink skin) somehow giving him more confidence to stand up to the creature.

That was, until he caught sight of him.

“ _Bill Cipher_...” he breathed, confidence meeting away.

“ **So you _do_ remember me! Took you long enough!**” Bill looked slightly different.

He had somehow concentrated the pink smudges to his bow tie and the band around his hat, making him look a little more organised.

Which was odd, because Dipper had told him all about Weirdmaggedon and Bill seemed to be all about chaos.

He, oddly enough, reminded Steven, who had to squint to adjust to Bill’s brightness, of a drawing a bored teenager had done using obnoxiously bright highlighters to colour in. It was especially odd because he was rarely around bored teenagers, other than himself.

“ **So, how’s my favourite being been?** ” Bill asked, resting where his... chin _might_ have been (if he was a more humanoid shape) in his hands. It was such a casual, friendly sort of thing to say the Steven felt enraged.

“Don’t! I just want Connie, you told me you had Connie!”

“ **Of course I do!** ” He gasped suddenly and cried out, “ **Oh no, she’s escaped and is right over there!** ” Bill pointed west. Steven spun around desperately. 

Instead of seeing being Connie, Steven saw that Bill had somehow doubled himself, or moved very fast, so that _he_ was there instead.

“ **Ha ha ha ha ha! You’re even more gullible than you look!** ” He giggled maniacally for awhile.  
Then Bill seemed to think about what he was saying and went right up close to Steven, ignoring the fact that the teen immediately shrunk back as far as he could without walking into a footstep shaped crater. “ **You know, I don’t wanna fight you Diamond, I really don’t.** ”

“ _What_?” Steven asked, because that was about the opposite of what Bill’s actions indicated to him.

He _kidnapped_ his girlfriend!

“ **And I’d love to give you sword girl, but it just won’t do. I am incredibly lonely!** ” All this was said in a cheerful voice, devaluing any illusions of genuine regret Steven assumed Bill was trying to create.

“Y-yeah, because who’d want to spend time with you?” Steven tried leaving his comfort zone and being snarky, like Lars had once been, in an effort to deter the dream demon.

It only served to make him laugh ecstatically.

“ **What I’m saying is I’d like a friend in return for your little knight, don’t you think that’s fair?** ” 

“I’ve heard all your tricks Cipher, what do you _actually_ want?” He sounded like he was begging now, but Steven tried not to care. 

“ **Wise guy, eh? I’ll tell you the truth then. I only want a dance partner... Perhaps you’d do the honours? I seem to recall that you are _very_ good at it.**” 

“D-dance?” Steven was... confused.

Singing and dancing had always been the answers to his problems in the past, but Bill seemed to have something more sinister in mind.

Besides, he’d learnt from experience just recently that sometimes you need more than that to make things right.

“Tell me what you really want.”

“ **Ok, ok. Pink Diamond-** “

“Steven. Call me Steven, or I won’t listen and I’ll find Connie myself!“ The hybrid impatiently demanded. Bill must have _really_ wanted something from him because he _actually_ complied.

**“Steven Universe, I want us.....”**

****

****

There was an almost eerie pause that seemed to last an eternity....

Then, Bill said something that made Steven’s heart drop.

****

****

**“To** **fuse**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a place to stop. What’s with me and cliff hangers?   
> Thanks for reading, if anyone still is after this long hiatus sorry! (I’m challenging the cannon show here, am I right?)  
> Tell me what you think? (Sorry again)


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will they fuse.... won’t they fuse....  
> (Knowing me I’ll probably leave you on a cliffhanger either way)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think of my updates as being ‘fashionably late’. I hope this chapter is ok! Let me know if there’s anything I should improve on, I especially need criticism after my break (other than on my horrific spelling lol)

“Excuse me _what_?!”

“ **I want us to fuse. Like, meld our souls** **together?** ” Bill blinked, looking slightly confused. Had he overestimated Pink D-Steven’s level of understanding? Really, these mortals were impossible to have a decent conversation with. “ **Did** **I- did I not make myself clear?”** He began speaking slowly as if he were talking to someone who only spoke a foreign language. “ **I... Want... Us... To... Fuse.** ”

“F- _fuse_?!” The hybrid repeated once more. Steven’s brain had practically stopped working, and he couldn’t seem to even process this request. 

“ **Ok, this time you heard m** **e little di... Universe. I want us to fuse!** ” Bill held out his hand and instantaneously a blue fire consumed it, however no warmth emanated from the dream demon’s hand. Occasionally a flicker of Steven’s pink was just about visible in the flames.

Steven couldn’t move; he couldn’t even think!

Bill wanted to _fuse_? With him? 

Did he think he was insane?

_(_ Was he insane? He was talking to an overpriced Dorito...)

His pink body trembled uncertainly, while Bill began to look bored with waiting, even though he was clearly desperately trying to be patient. His eye turned into a clock, the hands wizzing around enough to make you dizzy.

“ **Tick tock Universe! Come on! You used to be so _eager_ to fuse when you were small! Heck, you’re still small now!**” Bill swelled up suddenly so he was much taller, an image of ‘classic Steven’ staring at Garnet (who he’d only just learned was a fusion) with an amazed look on his face flashed across his enlarged triangular body. “ **And don’t you wanna be like that again? The Steven everyone loved? What have you got to loose?** ” Bill pretended to consider. “ **Oh, right! The little knight’s life! Hahaha!** ”

“I... I” Steven wracked his mind for something to say. Bill seemed to know how to play him like a ukulele. 

And he seemed to think the whole thing was some sort of _game_ , laughing and joking as if Connie’s life wasn’t on the line.

He wished it was Connie who was offering to fuse with him.

Then, insperation hit as he glared at his own pink feet. The thing that had created all these problems in the beginning. He was part gem. Part human. Bill was neither. “Sorry.” He said, though in truth he felt anything but sorry, “I can’t even fuse with you anyway! You aren’t human _or_ gem.” 

“ **And that’s what will make _this_ so great! I will never leave you out like those flesh and jelly bags, or those compound logs of carbon. You can join _my_ party! Haven’t you always wanted a friend like that? Even the knight’s given you some trouble before!**”

During this monologue, which Steven would never admit that there was a very small (but still very _real_ ) part of him was a little intrigued by, there was a rustle in the bushes behind the glowing evil Dorito, who took no notice.

He tried to crane his neck to see, wishing it was the Pines come to rescue him. 

No, he shouldn’t wish that, they were fragile humans, they shouldn’t have to try and convince Bill not to fuse with him!

_I am human too. I am human too._ Steven reminded himself, proud he had retained something his therapist taught him.

“Why do you want to fuse anyway?” Steven asked, looking back at Bill, though he couldn’t quite seem to meet his eye.

“ **Without my friends this dimension is pretty boring! Since the gateway’s closed I thought you and I could... spice it up. Together!** ”

Seeing Steven still didn’t look convinced, Bill continued.

“ **Steven. Let me be real with you. I’ve always been different too. All my friends, they live in the nightmare realm. I’m a living triangle. I’m the odd one out. Not quite in Earth’s dimension, not quite in my own. I just wanna be with my friends. I just wanna fit in.** ”

“Y...you’re like me?” Steven wanted to look away, he wanted to scream ‘You’re a liar!’ And slap away his black hand.

But... the look on Bill’s face...

He had no mouth, which still weirded Steven out just a little, but his eye, it was so _sincere_. There was no malicious glint, no hint of a trick. Just raw emotion, the kind he’d only ever seen in a mirror.

“ **Everyone thinks I’m the bad guy. I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I’m _literally_ from a different dimension. Things are different here. And... Some people think _you’re_ the bad guy too, but you’re half from a different planet! Things are different for us. We can _show_ them, Steven. I have a suspicion that with our weird powers _combined_ we could be unstoppable! We can do _whatever_ we want together. Create a world for misfits like us, then they will see what it’s like to be different! So, what do you say?**”

This time, Bill came right up close to Steven, hand outstretched, face sincere.

It sounded like this fusion could solve all of Steven’s problems.

It sounded like Bill had been misunderstood.

Steven bit his lip.

What if it just _sounded_ like that? What if their fusion became like... like Malachite?

But they were both _willing_ to fuse. Jasper hadn’t wanted to remain in Malachite, and Lapis hadn’t enjoyed it either. It was a fusion built on hate and anger. A fusion of him and Bill would be purposeful, ambitious, weird in a brilliant way....

So why was he hesitating? This would _not_ be like Malachite. 

Besides, either one of them could break it off any time they wanted. If even a smidge of evil intentions crossed their mind together, he could simply separate.

Maybe...

He reached out his own glowing, pink hand, ready to meet the black, flaming hand of Bill Cipher.

“ _Nooooo_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill: Being an ultimate powerful being with practically no weaknesses and the power to possess people is awful!  
> Steven: Ikr
> 
> Do you think Bill is sincere? Or has he got some trick up his sleeve? (Tho He doesn’t wear clothes, so I doubt it...)


End file.
